


Confronted by the Spotlight

by MargoMarie22



Category: Carol (2015), The Price of Salt - Patricia Highsmith
Genre: Angst, F/F, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Sex, Slow Burn, lesbian love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-24
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-09-01 21:55:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 34,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8639653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MargoMarie22/pseuds/MargoMarie22
Summary: Modern AU for Carol/The Price of Salt. Therese is an actor and auditioning for a show Carol is choreographing. The attraction is inevitable but should it be happening?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first fan fiction. Enjoy!

     Therese walked in last, behind the group of chattering young women. How could they be so calm? Auditions always made Therese feel like she was going to throw up. She quickly found a chair to sit in while she changed out of her nice black heels into her tan character heels. Aside from the slight bit of nausea, she was excited. Dance call was always Therese's favorite part of any musical audition.  
      A voice called the room to attention, the choreographer most likely. Therese quickly finished buckling her shoe and raced to the back of the group. As much as she loved to dance, she wasn't exactly a gifted and trained dancer. Besides, the role she wanted most in the show didn't require more than half a song's worth of skill.  
      Therese pushed her anxiety aside, took a deep breath, and looked up. This time her stomach dropped for a whole other reason. The woman Therese could only take for the choreographer was beautiful. No. Beautiful wasn't good enough, she was gorgeous, breathtaking, mesmerizing. She was tall and thin, with golden hair pulled back in a neat bun with bangs swept across her porcelain forehead. Therese was so wrapped up in looking the woman up and down she missed her name being called out next to her.  
      "Yo! Earth to Therese!" Therese looked over to her right.  
      "Marcia! Hey! Yes, hi! Sorry!"  
      "You okay?"  
      "Yeah! Fine, just nerves as usual. No biggie! I wonder what song we're learning the dance for."  
      "Well we're about to find out. Carol is great, she can teach anyone to dance! Hell she taught me to tap dance last summer and god knows I'm a hopeless case when it comes to being light on your feet!" She laughed.  
      Therese smiled and looked forward again.  
      _Carol_.  
      The next 20 minutes went by quickly. The entire time Therese had her eyes trained on Carol but never once did Carol seem to notice her. By now however Therese was more grateful than disheartened. Along with not being a "dancer" she was also not exactly fit. Sure she was slim and held a good figure but she had no great endurance and was starting to really sweat.  
      Before she knew it, Therese and the rest of the girls were being herded back downstairs. It was time to perform what 90 seconds of choreography they had learned for the director of Legally Blonde: The Musical. 15 girls gathered on the stage of the old historic theatre and peered out into the audience waiting for instructions. They'd perform in groups of five, three times each in front of everyone, production team and fellow auditioning actors alike.  
      Therese felt her stomach start to knot up again but told herself not to worry. She was gunning for the part of Vivienne and dancing was not a necessity. Her time came and went and she was allowed to sit down again. She was done, two out of three, for the night. She had already performed her audition song and felt very solid about it. All that was left were the cold reads.  
      She watched as Carol took another group of young men and women upstairs to teach them the same dance routine. She couldn't help but start to wonder about her. Has she done work with this theatre often? How old she was? Was she single?  
      _Oh get a grip,_ Therese told herself, _you haven't even spoken to her._ Then she realized if she were cast in the part of Vivienne, she'd hardly get work with Carol more than a few days total on the show. She suddenly wished she had tried harder in the dance call, maybe stood in front in hopes that Carol would've seen her and given her a few pointers or corrections. Anything to have spoken with her at least.  
      Therese's only other hope was Ann. Ann was Therese's best friend and, unlike herself, a very gifted dancer and about to graduate college in the fall. She was looking for a chance to dip her toes into the job of choreographer outside of a school setting. So Therese drug Ann along with her to auditions and told her to approach whomever the choreographer was and to ask if they would mind letting Ann becoming their assistant on the show.  
      Ann apparently hadn't approached Carol yet about being an assistant and seemed nervous. Therese saw her opportunity and spoke up.  
      "Look Ann, Marcia knows Carol, she worked with her last year. So Marcia will do the introducing. I'll go with you so you aren't the only one, then it won't be so awkward. Marcia will explain about you wanting to be an assistant just to get the ball rolling and you can take it from there. I'll be right beside you so if anything happens, you freeze up or don't know what to say, I'll just jump in with something. Okay?"  
      "Alright, alright! JEEZE I'm not THAT scared, you don't have to come with me."  
      "No I want to! Besides it's always good to get to know the production team, name to a face, better chance to be remembered and cast!"  
      "Ah yes true! The next group is just coming back, we should go talk to her after they perform, before she takes up the last group."  
      When the trio starting making their way down the aisle, Therese started to feel herself sweat. She was glad to be at the back of the group once more. She tugged at the hem of her dress and smoothed her hair. She didn't know why she was bothering at all.  
      _Of course you know why you idiot, you want to impress her! You want her to notice you._ Therese pushed these thoughts away and put on a professional smile. Marcia was grabbing Carol attention as Therese came to stand by Ann waiting to be introduced.  
      "Marcia! It's so good to see you again!" Carol's velvety voice made Therese weak in knees. Carol reached out and hugged Marcia and Therese felt a small stab of jealousy in her chest.  
      "These are my friends, Ann and Therese"  
      "Hello, it's wonderful to meet you both! We're so glad you came out to audition for the show." Carol extended her hand to Ann giving it a quick shake and then offered her hand to Therese. Therese became acutely aware of her heart beating swiftly and feared her hands would be sweaty. Looking down to Carol's hand, she lifted her own. When they finally met, skin to skin, Therese nearly gasped. She was wonderfully soft and held her hand so tenderly. It was a perfect fit, the most comfortable and natural feeling. Therese looked up quickly, meeting Carol's stormy grey eyes with her own. Carol smiled down at her.  
      Therese froze. _Oh help._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to wait until tomorrow to post another chapter but I've had a few requests for more!  
> Happy Thanksgiving to anyone who celebrates.  
> Enjoy!

     Therese stood transfixed on Carol as she spoke with Ann. Carol was expressive with her hands as she talked, occasionally brushing her bangs out of her eyes. Her long slim fingers moved gracefully through the air. Therese wondered what it would be like to feel those hands moving through her own hair. Suddenly she felt Ann shuffling towards her. Therese snapped back into focus, realizing the conversation was at an end.  
      "It was good to see you, Carol!"  
      "Likewise, Marcia. Break a leg on the rest of your auditions! And Ann, don't forget to email me your information. We'll begin dance rehearsals here in a week or so." Therese turned to lead the three of them back to their seats.  
      "And Therese," She froze, turning to face Carol shyly, "it was wonderful to meet you. I look forward to the possibility of working with you this summer." Carol smiled, flustering Therese.  
     She stammered. "Oh, oh yes! Thank you, you too! I-I mean it was nice to meet you, too and I do hope I get to work with you on this show. Thank you!" She could feel her face heating up, thankful that she was wearing makeup to hide the fierce blush she was sure was creeping up her neck into her face. She turned one last time and booked it up the aisle leaving the other two girls behind. She sat down quickly, grabbed her water bottle and drained it.  
      "Hey, you okay?" Ann sat down to her left.  
      "Mmm, yeah! Fine. Just ready for these auditions to be over. So! You think you'll be working with Carol?"  
      "I think so. It's not exactly the arrangement that I was hoping for but it's better than nothing. And it means I get to spend the summer with you guys!" Therese wasn't sure what arrangement Ann meant, she had completely spaced out during her conversation with Carol but went along with it.  
      "I understand that, but hey you're right, it's better than nothing! It may just be more of a learning experience than hands-on but I'm sure it'll be fun. Besides, now you can help me if I get cast!"

 

     The second night of auditions came with even more anxiety for Therese. Now not only did she have the audition to fret over, she was also preoccupied with looking her best in case Carol was present again tonight. She wanted some other reason to interact with her. On the other hand she was afraid Carol would make her even more nervous through this whole process.  
      Entering the theatre she did a quick scan of the audience looking for golden hair. She took a seat once more near the back of the theatre with Ann and Marcia. Once settled into her seat, she took a deep breath and pulled out her phone to text her friend Judy.  
      **Girl I am freaking out!**  
      Judy was the only person Therese could talk to about anything and everything. She had been struggling recently with her sexuality. Judy herself was bisexual and so lent not only an ear but offered her valuable advice. She had been Therese's rock the last few months.  
      While waiting for a response, Therese heard commotion near the stage. Looking up, she saw the director, Maureen, walk in from backstage followed by Carol. Her hair was down today in soft curls at her shoulders and she wore a modesty navy polka dotted dress. _How could she possibly look even more breathtaking today?_ Therese's heart started beating furiously _Christ, what just seeing Carol does to me. What the hell is going on!?_  
      As she crossed the room, Carol began to scan the crowd. When her eyes locked with Therese's she gave a polite nod and smiled. Without thinking Therese began to lift her hand to give a little wave back. But before she could a voice startled her from behind.  
      "HEY!" Therese let out a small scream and turn around.  
      "Goddamn it, Danny!" She whispered "Don't scare me like that!" She smacked him on the arm. Danny just laughed.  
      "Well you don't need to be so uptight, jumpy! So, what did I miss?"  
      _Only the most gorgeous creature I've ever seen._  
      "Oh nothing much. Yesterday was all vocal and dance. We didn't get to much cold reading. I suspect after stragglers like you sing and dance we'll move on to cold reading more tonight." Danny had been unable to make the first day of auditions.  
      The rest of the evening passed by slowly, watching the cold readings, periodically being asked to read. At one point Therese was asked to go backstage with the vocal director who gave her a song from the show to sing. It was Vivienne's solo, the part Therese wanted. She was ecstatic the director was giving her a shot at the role but she still had two other girls she was in competition with. The three of them walked out on stage and each took a turn singing the part. Therese was last. She took a deep breath and hit the ground running. She tried not to focus on anything in particular as she sang, instead looked out at the back of the theatre and belted her heart out.  
When she was done, and slightly out of breath, she looked toward the production team. Maureen was busy whispering to the vocal director. She looked a bit to the right and felt her heart drop into her stomach. Carol was beaming at her. She nodded encouragingly and mouth "good job." Therese couldn't help but smile widely and mouthed back "thank you."  
      When Therese finally made it back to her seat she was floating on air. She only faintly heard or acknowledged the praise from her friends and other actors sitting nearby.  
      The auditions wrapped up soon after. Everyone picked up their things and began to say goodbye. A few "break a leg"s were tossed in here or there. Everyone would be up late waiting for the cast list to be posted online. But Therese, Marcia, Ann, and Danny had plans to go out to eat. Cast or not, they would celebrate having survived another round of auditions. More likely than not they would all be cast, it was community theatre and the director, Therese found out later, was known for giving everyone who auditioned a chance to be in the show.  
      Therese walked out of the theatre, falling behind the others, trying to fish her phone out of her purse when she felt a feminine hand on her shoulder. Thinking it was one of the girls she didn't bother looking up.  
      "I'm coming, don't worry. Just trying to find my phone. I texted Judy I was having a crisis and forgot to check if she-" Therese finally looked up and gasped.  
      "Oh Carol! I'm sorry I thought you were...I mean I wasn't looking and assumed you were...I mean-" Carol cut her off, laughing.  
      "That's alright I assumed you thought I was Marcia or Ann. I hope your crisis isn't too urgent," Carol smiled teasingly, "I just wanted to stop and tell you what a wonderful job I thought you did on your audition. After meeting you yesterday I never imagined you could pull off the part of a stone cold bitch with the powerful voice. But I'm very happy to say that tonight you proved me wrong."  
      Therese was at a loss for words. "Oh um, th-thank you!" _I think._  
      "Good luck tonight as you wait for the cast results!" Carol turned without waiting for an answer and began to walk away. Before she got very far she turned back to look at Therese and threw her a wink. Therese stood in shock, her mouth parted, unable to speak or react.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a slower chapter but the next two will make up for it!   
> Thoughts and comments welcome.  
> Enjoy!

     "Therese! Come on, let's go!!" Therese blinked. Suddenly the world came back into focus. Marcia was yelling across the street from the parking lot.  
     "Coming! I'm coming!" She looked back to the left in the direction Carol had headed but she was gone. She clutched her purse close to her side, slung her bag over her shoulder and took off across the street towards the car.  
     Climbing in the back, Ann turned to her. "What is wrong with you today? You keep spacing out. Did you sleep last night?" Her friends were always after her about not getting enough sleep. She was constantly pouring over different plays and scripts, trying to educate herself. She was 22 and going into her senior year of college for acting at West Connecticut State University  
     "Yes, I slept last night!" Anna stared at her. Therese didn't want to tell her about her interaction with Carol, she wanted to keep it for herself. Her own moment to relish. "Auditions just make me nervous and weird. Let's go, I'm starving!"  
     They took off to the north towards Danbury where they lived to the south of campus. Therese pulled out her phone after finally finding it at the bottom of her bag instead of her purse and saw that Judy had finally answered her. She spent the majority of the half hour drive filling her in on the happenings of the last two evenings. She was still reeling over everything.  
     But as she talked it out, everything seemed less important, less exciting, more imagined. Maybe she was making something out of nothing. The handshake; Carol had just finished with a second round of teaching a dance, maybe the warmth Therese felt was just because Carol was hot from that. The smiles; Marcia mentioned how nice a person Carol was, maybe she was just being polite and welcoming to someone new. Therese began to feel unsure of herself.

     Carol climbed into her car and took a deep breath. She hadn't felt like this in a long time, the fluttering in her stomach, light headed, almost giggly. _Giggly? What kind of school girl are you turning into? You're a grown ass woman, get yourself under control!_ She started her car and pulled out of her parking spot around the corner from the theatre and headed to her apartment on the south side of town.  
     She had been captivated by the small brunette. Working in the theatre she met many beautiful women, and men. But there was something different about Therese, something intriguing. Maybe it was her innocent look, like a deer in the headlights.  
     But the moment she stepped on stage she blossomed into a fierce and confident woman. The change was almost jarring but mesmerizing at the same. Of course after her audition it was clear to everyone she was a cinch for the role of Vivienne. This did mean Carol wouldn't get a real change to work with Therese but it would give her a chance to watch her with a curious eye rather than a critical one. She might just attend a few extra rehearsals outside of her scheduled ones for teaching the show's choreography.  
     Carol laughed to herself. _What a fool you are. This girl has no interest in you. You're probably 15 years her senior! Besides, this is a job, paid or not. You have to keep things professional._ Carol was also a middle school English teacher. The thought of getting involved with a college student seemed outrageous, not to mention possibly put her job in jeopardy if anyone involved in the school district caught wind of the relationship.  
_Relationship. Now you're really talking crazy. You barely met the girl a day ago._ But Carol couldn't deny to herself the spark of energy and warmth she felt when she shook Therese's hand.  
     Pulling into the her apartment's parking lot and shutting off the car's engine she suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her. Tonight the cast list would be posted and tomorrow the first read through of the show would be held. She normally didn't attend the first reading but this time, she decided, she may make an exception.

  
     Danny met the girls at the diner. Therese was more focused on her margarita than her food and was soon ordering a second.  
     "Damn girl, slow down. Are you really that stressed about the cast list? You knocked it out of the park, I don't think anyone in that theatre doubts you'll be cast as Vivienne. The rest of us should be worried about getting a part." Danny had a point but Therese wasn't ready to share the real reason behind the drinking.  
     "I just need to unwind. What's with everyone getting on my case today? It's the end of a stressful semester and we just had two days of auditions. Alcohol helps me relax. Besides it's not like I'm driving."  
     Ann, always the mother figure, piped up. "Yeah but you've still got classes tomorrow and a read through in the evening if all goes well. Don't over do it and wind up with a hangover on a Tuesday morning!"  
     Therese ignored her and picked at her food. It was nearing midnight. Marcia, who had been on her phone constantly refreshing the theatre's website waiting for the list to be posted, suddenly squealed.  
     "Guys it's up!! They posted the cast list!" Ann looked over her should to read while Therese pulled out her phone so she and Danny could look for themselves. Therese smiled. She had gotten Vivienne. She thought back to Carol's words outside of the theatre and started to blush. She looked down once more to see the rest of the results. Marcia had been cast as Therese's best friend as well as a sorority sister. They both squealed and high-fived. Danny had been cast as a dancer, the rapper Grand Master Chad in the beginning of the show, and Nikos Argitakos for the court room scenes, a nice haul!  
     They all hugged and congratulated each other. Things had worked out well for everyone.  
     Therese raised her drink. "Gang, I think it's time for a toast! To Legally Blonde: The Musical. May we have one hell of a summer. Cheers!" She drained the rest of her drink.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4! Happy reading!

     The next evening it was Therese's turn to drive the group and Danny joined them. It was about a thirty minute drive from south Danbury to north Norwalk where the theatre was. The whole way there Therese was quiet. She couldn't stop thinking about parts of her conversation with Judy over text last night.

      **Therese, just whatever happens, whatever you feel, don't close yourself off. You always do that when you're afraid of developing feelings for someone before it even has a chance to happen. Does that make sense? Just be friendly with Carol, get to know her. But remember, you are working together now, keep it professional at the moment. You don't want to possibly end up with a broken heart AND put your job, or hers, with the show in jeopardy. Okay? Just don't sweat it. Be you. I love you and hope this helps!! :***  
     Judy was right. Even if, by some miracle, Carol was interested in her, everything would have to wait till the end of the show. Like they all say "Never mix business with pleasure." But none the less Therese couldn't help the giddy feeling in her stomach. She put a little more pressure on the gas pedal, propelling them towards the theatre.

     Carol walked into the theatre. It was quiet and dark, something you would rarely experienced there. There was a light coming from backstage. She could faintly see two long tables set up on stage with chairs lined around them. She heard scuffling and saw a shadow in the light.  
     "Hello? Anyone home?" The house lights came on and a head poked out from stage right.  
     "Oh hi, Carol! I didn't expect to see you. You usually don't come for a read through, and so early too!" Maureen walked onstage and put her things down at the head of the table. It was nearly half an hour before the actors were scheduled to arrive.  
     Carol set her bag down in one of the seats of the audience. "Well I finished early today at work and had nothing pressing to do this evening so I thought I'd shake things up a bit and attend this time around." _Not to mention a charming young woman will be in attendance tonight and I do not intend to miss her._

  
     Therese put her car in park. They had arrived 20 minutes early but they all agreed that they wanted to be early for every rehearsal so they could have time to chat, loosen up, and get focused. Besides, there was always that old theatre saying "to be early is to be on time and to be on time is to be late. And to be late is to be fired."  
     As the four of them walked, Therese pulled Marcia back with her.  
     "Who all from the production team usually shows up to the read through?"  
     "Well from the two shows I've done here with basically the same group of people, it's really only the director, assistant director, and vocal director, so Maureen and Susan. I'm not sure if we have an official assistant director yet."  
     "Oh, so Carol won't be here tonight?" She tried to sound nonchalant as she opened the door for Marcia to enter ahead of her. Ann and Danny had walked far ahead of them and were probably already seated inside.  
     "I don't think so. We usually don't see her until the first Sunday dance rehearsal." The two women walked through the lobby towards the theatre.

  
     Carol was standing in the audience, texting her best friend Abby when she heard chattering from the lobby and looked back. Ann and Danny came through the door laughing. Carol's heart skipped a beat, wondering if Therese would be coming in behind them. Maureen broke her train of thought.  
     "Hey guys! Come on up and pick a seat, I'll grab scripts for you."  
     Carol looked towards the lobby again but didn't see anyone else walking through. She sat down in disappointment and focused back on her phone.  
      **Abby, I swear, I am the worst lesbian there is. I've got no sense of gay radar or whatever it's called!**  
     Abby was always quick to respond.  
      **Honey, it's called gaydar! And who the hell are you trying to scope out??? What haven't you told me??**  
     Carol panicked.  
      **No one!! I just meant in general, ya know?**  
     She heard muffled voices behind her and turned to see Marcia and Therese walking down the aisle towards her arm in arm. She lost grip of her phone, hearing it hit the floor under her. She quickly slipped out of her seat and bent down to retrieve the phone.  
     Therese walked towards the stage hanging onto Marcia's arm. She and Marcia were extremely comfortable with each other, practically sisters and were always hanging off of one another. As they passed one of the front most rows of seats, Therese looked over to see a blonde figure crouched over trying to retrieve something from under the seats. She stopped, releasing Marcia's arm in surprise leaving her to walk up to the stage alone.  
     "Carol?" Carol looked up, slightly alarmed, hitting her head on the arm of the chair.  
     "Ow, Jesus! Shit that hurt!" She tipped back and fell on her butt, holding the side of her head.  
     "Oh god, are you okay?" Therese rushed over to her getting down on her knees.  
     She gingerly grabbed the wrist of Carol's hand that was holding her head without thinking. Carol jerked back in surprise, startled by Therese's gesture. Carol regretted it instantly as she watched Therese's eyes grow wide.  
     Therese withdrew her hand quickly, her face growing red from embarrassment. She shouldn't have touched Carol. She didn't know her. It was too forward. She mentally slapped her wrist.  
     "I...I'm sorry, are you alright?" She stood and took a few steps back.  
     Carol rose to her feet quickly. "Yes, I'm alright. Thank you." She laughed nervously as she glanced down for a moment. "I dropped my ph-" but Therese was already gone. Carol watched her race up to the stage, deposit her things in a chair next to Danny and took off down the aisle on the other side of the theatre, far away from Carol, back towards the lobby.  
     Therese locked the door to the one-person bathroom. She was near tears and needed a moment to gather herself. She had been wrong about everything. She had imagined all of it. She couldn't understand why she was taking it hard though.  
      _You've known this woman all of 48 hours. You're nothing to her. She's nothing to you. You have a show to work on. Now focus and get. To. WORK._ She splashed a bit of cool water on her face, patted it dry, and headed back towards the theatre. When she looked up to the stage where more people were gathering, she froze in horror.  
     Carol had chosen the seat right beside her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for making it this far with me!   
> After this, chapters will be getting a little longer!  
> I'm also in the midst of finals week (more like 2 weeks) but I will try to continue posting a chapter a day to the best of my abilities!

     Therese wanted nothing more in that moment than to turn and run. _Why would she want to sit by me? I just caused her to smack her head. She’s probably got a concussion! Oh maybe that’s it. She’s got a concussion and she’s confused. Maybe she didn’t even realize I’m sitting there. Sure. That’s all it is!_ But her own thoughts were doing little to comfort her, try as she might. She started towards the stage keeping her eyes trained on the floor.   

     Carol pulled out her notebook, smirking to herself. Therese had finally shown her face once more and looked absolutely stunned to see Carol was sitting in the seat next to hers. She had gotten the response she’d hoped for. She didn’t intend on letting things start off on the wrong foot with Therese. She hadn’t meant to pull away from Therese so aggressively. She was dazed and when she felt the softness of Therese’s hand on her, her face so close to hers, she panicked. But Carol was determined to show Therese that she was not afraid of her. It was nearing time for rehearsal to begin and more people had filed into the theatre and taken their place at the tables on stage. Different conversations could be picked up, from congratulations to reunions of actors who hadn’t seen each other since last summer’s show. A few people were making the rounds, introducing themselves to newcomers.

     Therese sat in her seat, instantly turning her body away from Carol, and pulled on Danny’s sleeve till he bent his head down to hers.

     “Don’t leave my side tonight.” Therese pleaded.

     “Okay…are you okay?”

     “I’ll explain it to you later,” she fibbed, “I just need to lean on you tonight, please?”

     “Alright, you got it. Love you.”

     “Love you.”

     Carol watched Therese and Danny whispering to each other out of the corner of her eye as she halfheartedly listened to someone recount their accomplishments over the last couple of months. Therese was now pulling a highlighter and pencil out of her bag. If she wasn’t mistaken, Carol thought she could see the young woman trembling slightly. This was not quite the effect Carol had intended to or wanted to inflict on her. She began to feel guilty.

     Therese swore under her breath. She couldn’t stop her hands from shaking as she settled in. She pulled her phone out and texted Judy.

     **We already have so much to talk about later and rehearsal hasn’t even officially started! I am freaking out. Pray for me…**

     Judy immediately started typing back a response.

     **Hang in there girl! Remember, head up, open mind, and BREATH. Text me when you’re home for the night. XOXO**

     Therese put her phone on silent and turned it face down on the table. She was acutely aware of Carol to her left. She swore it even felt like Carol was watching her but she was too afraid of coming face to face with those ghostly grey eyes to find out. She mindlessly fiddled with the edge of her script and then began to tap her fingers on the table. Suddenly a warm hand enveloped hers. She stared at foreign milky white skin lightly speckled with freckles.

     Therese had become still under Carol’s hand. She wouldn’t look at her. Carol leaned over, lowering her voice so only Therese would hear her.

     “Relax.” Therese shuddered.

     She let out an audible breath she had been holding and couldn’t hide a small smile. Carol chuckled and removed her hand. Therese instantly missed it, feeling cool air now where her hand had been. She finally looked over at Carol.

     Carol let out her own silent sigh of relief. She could finally see those beautiful brown eyes. It was like looking into a creamy pot of melted chocolate. She smiled encouragingly. She hoped the bridge had been mended between them.

     Maureen stood at the head of the table and quieted everyone down. “I want to thank everyone for coming tonight on such short notice for our first read through. Congratulations to you all and thank you for giving me such a fun two days of auditions. I can’t wait to see what the next few months has in store for us all and the show.” Everyone went around the table formally introducing themselves and stated what their role was in the show. After, they began a read and rough sing through. There was plenty of laughter and joking around during the next 2 hours. The cast got along well. But most of all, Carol and Therese seemed to get along great.

     They were nearing the end of the show when Carol’s phone began to buzz. She looked at the screen and quietly excused herself from the table and headed backstage to the green room leaving the door open behind her. If Therese leaned back in her chair she could see Carol but couldn’t quite hear what she was saying. She kept glancing in the older woman's direction and grew worried. Carol was pacing, she seemed agitated. _No, not quite agitated. More like she’s in anguish._ Her hands were moving furiously through the air. She stopped pacing, suddenly raising her voice.

     "Harge, I can't have this discussion right now. I'll be home in another hour or so. We'll talk about this then. No Harge. I said no!" She looked down and covered her face with her free hand. She nodded and hung up the phone. For a moment she just stood staring at the ground.

     Therese quickly looked away, trying to focus back in on where they were in the show. No one else seemed to have noticed what was going on with Carol. Therese tried to ignore it, she shouldn't snoop, but she couldn't stop thinking about what she had overheard. _That must've been her husband. Of course she has a husband. Why would a woman like that be single?_

     After taking a minute to gather herself, Carol started to walk back towards the stage. She dropped down heavily into her seat and asked Therese flatly where they were in the script.

     “The last salon scene.” Carol flipped forward to the right page. “Carol, is everything okay?” Therese tried to keep her voice quiet.

     “Everything’s fine.” Therese couldn’t help but notice how the edge in Carol's voice and that she wouldn't look at her. She wanted to say something more to get Carol to talk, but her solo was coming up and she had to turn back to her script.

     In the middle of her song, Therese realized Carol was packing her stuff up. She swiftly stood, exiting through the theatre and out the front lobby. Therese finished her part and sunk in her chair, deflated. She knew whatever was bothering Carol had to do with the phone call but she still couldn’t shake the feeling of Carol being upset with her, just because of the way she had acted towards her. Maybe she was imagining it. But she had just suddenly turned so cold and shut Therese out. _How ironic. And here I am worried I was going to shut HER out._

     The end of the reading came quickly after that. Maureen decided to call it a night, they would start working on the show at the next rehearsal. Therese grabbed her things and waited on the others to leave. They walked out together into the warm evening.

     “Therese?” A familiar voice called out from the shadows a few feet away from the theatre's entrance but Therese could only see the lit butt of a cigarette. Carol stepped forward into the light putting out her cigarette on the top of a nearby trashcan. “Can I talk to you for a moment?"


	6. Chapter 6

Ann finally broke the silence. “We’ll wait for you in the car.” When Therese didn’t answer she grabbed the keys out of her hand and the group took off across the street, leaving Carol and Therese alone. Therese looked back to the cigarette Carol had just put out.

“I know, I shouldn’t smoke. But sometimes I just get so stressed I can’t help it.” Therese looked at Carol but remained quiet. Carol crossed her arms in front of her. Therese sighed and looked down. She knew what that body language meant, she was closing herself off.

“You wanted to talk to me?”

“Yes. I wanted to apologize. It was rude of me earlier to leave while you were singing. I should've-"

"Carol, you don’t have to apologize. It was the first go through of the show, it’s no big deal. I’m sure you had a good reason to, don’t worry about it.”

“No, I’m a grown woman. I should be able to control myself and my emotions better. Will you forgive me?”

“Yes, of course. But….” Therese trailed off.

“What is it, Therese?”

“I don’t know if I should ask, if you want me to. And by all means you don’t have to answer.” Therese took Carol’s silence as a cue to continue. “Are you alright? The phone call, earlier, it seemed to upset you. Is everything okay?”

The look in Carol's eyes turned hard. “It’s late. You should get back to your friends.” Therese felt like she had just been punched in the gut. She turned and headed towards the parking lot.

Carol watched Therese go. She didn’t know what to do but she had to stop her, she couldn’t let the conversation end like this.

“Therese!” She stopped and turned, looking back at Carol from across the road. But Carol couldn't think of what to say. Therese turned and continued towards her car, leaving Carol standing alone in the dark.

The questions started as soon as she got in the car. Even if Therese wanted to answer she couldn't tell who was asking what. Finally Danny shut everyone up. "Okay Therese, spill, what was that about? What did Carol want to talk to you about?"

"Nothing." Therese buckled her seatbelt and took the keys from Ann.

 "Nothing!? Bullshit. What's going on Therese?"

 "Look I don't want to talk about it. Let's just go home. I'm tired and I've got a headache." She started the car.

 Danny mumbled under his breath. "Copout." Therese heard it but didn't have the energy or care to call him out on it. Besides, it was true.

 The car ride home was uncomfortably quiet. Ann and Marcia whispered to themselves in the back, Danny sat in the front and acted as DJ. He was the last one Therese dropped off that evening. When she put her car in park so he could get out he turned to her.

 "I'm sorry about earlier. I'm just worried about you."

 "I know, Danny. I'm sorry I snapped."

 "You know you can talk to me right? About anything." Therese nodded. "What happened tonight?"

 Therese turned the car off. And took a shaky breath. "I know I can trust you with this because you're like this, I mean cause you’re…look, I swear Danny, if you tell anyone I will about this…."

 Danny suddenly got a twinkle in his eye. "I swear!"

 "I think..." Therese looked down at her hands. "I think I may have feelings for Carol...Like romantic feelings."

 Danny squealed and pulled Therese roughly into a hug making her giggle. "Oh Therese I'm so proud!! No wonder you've been acting weird! But wait, what did Carol say to you tonight??"

 "She was just apologizing for walking out while I was singing during rehearsal, which is really no biggie. But I felt like she was trying to or wanted to say something else, I don’t know. When I asked if she was okay and about the phone call she turned me away. I feel like I'm getting mixed signals from her but I can't tell if it's just wishful thinking on my part or what. All I know is I'm extremely attracted to her and I don't understand why."

 "Oh babe, I'm sorry. Well don't give up! Even I can see she is one attractive woman, don't get discouraged!"

 "Danny, I don't know if she's gay. Or even married!"

 "Well get to know her! That's the only way to find out."

 "Okay, okay! I'll see tomorrow."

 "Alright, goodnight! Love you, girl."

 "Love you."

  

The next day Danny drove the group to rehearsal. Therese road shot gun but stayed silent for majority of the ride. When they reached the theatre, Therese hung back at the entrance and surveyed the audience. Carol didn't appear to be there. Therese felt both relieved and disappointed. Not only did Carol not show up, but Therese wouldn’t see her for another week and a half. Therese didn’t have to attend the first few dance rehearsals and Carol didn’t attend any rehearsals she wasn’t specifically needed at.

During that week and a half without seeing Carol, Therese felt carefree and got to know many of the other actors. Two new friends she made were Amanda, the lead actress playing Elle, and Matt, the lead actor playing Emmett. Therese was slowly getting comfortable and enjoying working on the show.

One evening, rehearsal had to be held at a nearby house the theatre owned for productions to use when the theatre wasn't available to rehearse in. It was smaller in size than Therese had imagined it would be when she was told about it but it was still big enough to get work done.

Everyone chattered away around her. Matt and Danny sat on either side of Therese and talked over her as she put on her rehearsal heels. She was having to wear them most evenings since she'd be in heels for the entirety of the actual show. Therese suddenly realized she had left her water bottle in the car. She grabbed her keys and excused herself, not that the boys paid too much attention to her. They were too busy flirting with each other. Therese snickered at them as she ran out the front door of the house. Making her way to her car she saw a grey hatchback car coming up the street. Therese opened the back door of her tan camry and looked for the bottle. She finally found it up under the passenger's seat, it must've rolled under there during the drive. She grabbed it, climbed out and locked the car. When she turned, she saw a flash of golden hair getting out of the now parked grey car. Therese panicked. It was Carol. Before she could look up and see her, Therese jogged the short distance back to the house. She went inside and took her seat again between Danny and Matt.

She turned to Danny. "I didn't know there was dance rehearsal tonight!"

It's a double rehearsal night, that's why I'm here. You and the other leads have rehearsal with Maureen and the dancers are learning both parts of "What You Want". Why do you- oh, oh wait! You haven't seen Carol since that night have you?"

Just as Therese shook her no, the front door opened and in walked the woman herself. Everyone else shouted greetings to her.

"Hey everyone, sorry I'm a little late!"

Therese and Carol locked eyes for a moment. Danny suddenly grabbed Therese's arm, forcing her to look at him. He whispered in her ear.

"Start laughing like I said something hilarious." Therese started to pull back questioningly. "Don't ask questions, just do it!" Therese let out her best cheerful laugh at Danny then leaned forward to him again.

"Okay, now tell me why in hell I just did that."

"Look at Carol."

Therese glanced subtly in Carol's direction. She was watching Therese. But what startled her most was the look of longing in Carol's eyes. Therese could feel a blush prickle her cheeks.

Carol made her way into the back room where she would be holding dance rehearsal. Danny and a few others stood to join her. Before they could go too far, Carol was back in the main room.

“Maureen, could we switch spaces tonight? I’m afraid the back room is going to be way too small for all my dancers and it’s a large dance number.”

“Of course, Carol! There’s only 5 of us tonight and it’s a pretty simple scene. I may also work a scene with just Amanda and Matt. If so, could my other actors wait in here as long as they don’t bother you?”

“Oh absolutely! I’m not worried about any of them causing troubles.” Carol glanced over her shoulder towards Therese who quickly looked down, pretending to be preoccupied with something on her hand. “Alright then, dancers, you’re in here with me!”

Maureen started towards the back. “Which means actors, you’re with me! But I actually only need Amanda and Matt right now. I want to work in a short scene with the two of them before we get to the jail scene with the lawyers. You few can stay in here till then. It’s a little roomier and probably a little cooler too.” The A/C in the house was faulty and the summer temperatures didn’t help.

Therese grabbed her things and moved off into a corner as the dancers started shifting furniture to give themselves more room. She tried to resist the urge to watch Carol and managed it for a few minutes. It was only when she heard Carol giving instructions to who would stand where did she look in her direction, unafraid to now thinking that she was probably preoccupied with getting rehearsal underway to give Therese a second thought. Throughout the next 30 minutes she tried to keep scanning the room casually rather than stare at Carol the entire time. She tried memorizing lines for the scene she was going to be rehearsing with Maureen but every time she sensed Carol demonstrating a move for someone she had to look up.

Carol was graceful yet incredibly sensual in her movements. But there was something endearing about it, as though she didn’t realize how just how sexy she was.

Finally Matt came around the corner and motioned for Therese and the others. Maureen was ready for them. She grabbed her script, a pencil, and her water but didn’t notice her phone had fallen out of her back pocket onto the bench she had been sitting on and headed towards the back. Just before she was out of sight, Therese looked back. Carol was watching her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The calm before the storm. Stay tuned! ;)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My finals are done! I can start updating a chapter a day-ish again!  
> Enjoy! :D

After an hour, Carol thought it was finally time for a breather. The dancers stood in a heap in the middle of the room loudly chattering amongst themselves. Carol however needed to sit down for a moment. Sure, she was in pretty great shape but she would much rather take advantage of the moment and sit during their break. Not to mention during those first 30 minutes Therese had been sitting in the room, Carol hadn’t been able to properly catch her breath. She had caught her numerous times watching her but every time she turned to return the look, Therese would shift her gaze away and around as if surveying everyone in the room thoughtlessly.

Carol needed a moment to herself and found an unoccupied corner. She wasn’t sure if it was out of coincidence or a deliberate choice of her subconscious, but the corner she had chosen was the one Therese had sat in. Therese’s bag was still on the ground as she had taken only what she needed to rehearse the scene with Maureen and the others.

Carol was taking a drink out of her water bottle when she suddenly heard the chime of a phone and looked down to her right. It seemed Therese had left her phone as well when she had gone into the other room. The phone chimed again and lit up, revealing two messages from someone named Judy. Carol couldn’t help but notice the beginning few lines of the text. But when she did, she felt compelled to keep reading.

**Hey chick magnet! Any new developments with the blonde beauty? You haven’t mentioned anything about her, or rehearsals at all for that matter, in a while! You’d better not be holding out on me! I want every little detail on anything that goes on between you and Carol, stat! ;)**

**But in all seriousness how are you doing? I know your last interaction shook you up a bit. You just haven’t talked much since and I worry. Love you! :***

Carol started to feel light headed. She stood and made her way towards the kitchen and the door leading out to the side of the house. Her legs felt wobbly so she sat on the concrete stairs. What had she just read? There was no denying it was about her. The girl had even mentioned her name!

Carol had feelings for Therese, there was no doubt about that. For whatever reason, she had even come that close to spilling her heart out to Therese about the mess that her life was the other evening outside the theatre. Carol wasn’t one to talk about her personal life with anyone but Abby. But there was something about Therese that made Carol want to tell her everything. She was completely taken with her. And those texts meant Therese might feel the same way about her. Carol’s heart rose but suddenly sunk. This was bad. This is what she feared. Things could end badly. Carol couldn’t take another heart break. She had already destroyed lives getting involved with someone she shouldn’t have before. She couldn’t do it again. She had to control herself, decide for them both what was best. And it was best to steer clear of even the possibility of getting involved with this young woman.

Tears gathered in the corners of Carol’s eyes. She hated thinking about her past. It always brought back awful memories from the events of last year, memories she still wasn’t ready to face head on. Pushing the feelings back down, she headed inside, wiping her eyes as she walked back through to the main room.   

Maureen had finished blocking out the basics of the scene and let the actors have a break. Afterwards they would come back and run it a few times for the sake of muscle memory. Therese walked back to check her phone and noticed the dancers were on break as well. She walked over to the corner about the same time as Danny. She picked up her phone checking her messages from Judy. She smirked and moved to sit down and answer her when she noticed a pale blue water bottle. She picked it up and turned to Danny.

“Hey, is this yours?”

“No, I think it’s Carol’s. She was sitting over here when we started break a few minutes ago.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Not sure where she ran off to though.”

But Therese hadn’t heard the last part. She was busy freaking out. Carol had sat here? Had she seen her phone? The texts messages? Had her phone been sitting face up? She couldn’t remember! She hastily set the bottle down and headed towards the bathroom. But as she passed the doorway to the kitchen, Carol rounded the corner and the two collided eith each other.

Carol’s hands landed on Therese’s arms to steady her and Therese’s to her hips to keep from falling over. It was in this position she realized just how much taller Carol was. If she looked straight forward, Therese’s eyes only hit her chin. Therese let go of Carol’s hips and looked down. She felt like her face was on fire. She muttered an apology and continued on towards the bathroom before Carol could get a word in.

Carol was stunned to say the least but shook it off, trying to remember what she had told herself moments ago. _Don’t get involved._

Therese locked the door behind her and leaned over the sink trying not to hyperventilate. Her biggest fear had always been rejection. A few months ago Therese had found a girl her age she had felt extremely attracted to. They had gone out together three times. Therese was ready to start talking about the possibility of a relationship with her. The girl agreed and strung her along for another few weeks until she ghosted on her. Therese was devastated. She had put her heart out there and this time for a girl, an act that truly terrified her.

But now with Carol, the attraction Therese felt made that other girl seem like a playground crush. What if Carol had seen the messages? There was no mistaking who they were about. What if Carol rejected her before they had a chance to even be friends? Therese was in way over her head. She didn’t know what she was doing. _I have to stop this. Besides, even if something did happen, how long would it last?_ She’d be graduated this time next year and ready to move across the country to Seattle. And she wasn’t going to stay behind for anyone. _See, that’s exactly why you can’t afford to get involved with anyone. You’re better off focusing on your future._ She splashed some cool water on her face and returned to the main room. When she go there, she grabbed her phone and headed back towards the room she had been rehearsing in with Maureen.

Carol watched Therese out of the corner of her eye as she came in, grabbed her things, and exited the room once more. But Therese never looked up in her direction.

 

 

A few days later, one of older couples involved with the show, Ken and Jeanette Harrison, sent an email around to all the “age appropriate” cast and production team members, inviting them all to their house Saturday night for a little party to get to know each other. Snacks and booze were going to be provided and there was also going to be a karaoke system set up. Karaoke night at bars was a favorite past time for Danny, Therese, Marcia and Ann, so of course they all accepted. Therese had to work during the day though at her retail job so she would have to drive herself and get there a little later than the others.

The night of, Therese pulled up in front of a two story house in a nice suburban neighborhood at 8:30 p.m. The party had started about an hour and a half ago. Therese looked among the other cars parked on the street and saw Danny’s. The rest of the gang was here. Therese was relieved, she was never really good in new environments with people she didn’t know very well so it was comforting to know she’d have friends with her. But the feeling didn’t last very long. Two cars away from Danny’s was a familiar grey vehicle. Therese knew Carol had probably been invited, but for whatever reason, she had just assumed Carol wouldn’t actually come. For a split second Therese contemplated turning around and leaving but stood her ground. She wasn’t going to let anyone keep her from having a good time. Besides, she knew there would be plenty of liquid courage awaiting her inside if needed.

Carol laughed at a joke Danny had told. He really was quite the character! He was in the midst of telling her another hilarious horror story about his last job as a waiter when the doorbell rang but she didn’t pay any mind to it. Marcia, who was sitting beside Danny suddenly jumped up.

“Therese, you made it! I was beginning to think you weren’t coming! Come sit by me,” Marcia began to pull Therese towards the couch.

When Carol and Therese caught sight of each other, Therese twisted her hand free of Marcia’s grasp.

“I’m going to go grab a drink and snack from the kitchen. I haven’t eaten since lunch!” Therese looked around. “Is Ann in there?”

“Oh, no. She couldn’t make it after all. Has some audition or another to go to early in the morning.” Therese nodded and walked into the kitchen. Jeanette was in there setting out more cheese and crackers. Her husband, Ken, walked in and asked what kind of drink Therese wanted.

“Well, what have you got?”

“We have beer, wine, I make a good alcoholic coffee drink or a mean dirty martini.”

“Oh the martini please, a nice big one if you don’t mind!”

“Trying to catch up, eh? One dirty martin coming right up!”

Therese stuffed a cracker in her mouth watching him mix her drink. He handed it to her and left to the other room as did Jeanette to check on the other guests, leaving Therese alone to pick out some finger foods to eat. If she wasn’t careful, she would be practically drinking on an empty stomach and she didn’t trust herself to get drunk with Carol here. Therese was looking out the window to the backyard as she sipped her drink. In the reflection of the window she watched a figure walk into the kitchen behind her.

“You didn’t say hi to me, Therese.” _Speak of the devil._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alcohol and Carol? A wonderful or horrible combination?


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to give names to the host and hostess of the party in the previous chapter and now I find need for it! It is Ken and Jeanette Harrison! (Sounds slightly familiar, eh?)

“You didn’t say hi to me, Therese.”

_So this is what it feels like to want to disappear._ Therese slowly spun on her heel to face Carol.

“Well, last time I checked, hellos go both ways.” She took a sip of her drink. _By God where did that come from?_

Carol hummed in response, turning to pick up a piece of cheese. “Touché.” As she popped it in her mouth Therese couldn’t help but watch her lips, transfixed. _Jesus the alcohol can’t be getting to me already._ Carol turned back towards her and she quickly averted her gaze back up to her eyes.

Carol smiled down at Therese. “I see you got yourself a drink. What are you having?”

“A martini.”

“Ah, very classic choice. I’m just having a small glass of wine, I have to drive home later.”

Therese’s eyes went wide. “Oh God, I drove. I didn’t even think about that.”

“It’s still early, these parties always last into the wee hours. Maybe you’ll be sobered up by then. If not, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind you crashing on their couch for the night.” But it wasn’t the Harrison’s couch Therese wanted to crash on.

Carol and Therese made small talk about the progress of the show as they filed their plates and headed back to the living room with drinks in hand.

The rest of the night passed with laughter. It was quite the night for karaoke, everyone singing, dancing around, and the alcohol flowed. Without realizing it, Therese’s one martini turned into two and then three. Carol ended up having a second glass of wine herself. When 3 a.m. approached, most of the guests were saying their goodbyes and leaving. Therese was hoping in vain that she would suddenly sober up and she could make it the 45 minutes back home. But Carol could see she was in no condition to drive. She joined Jeanette in the kitchen to help clean up, inquiring if Therese could crash on the couch and leave in the morning. Unfortunately, that was not going to be an easy option this time around. She and Ken had plans early in the morning.

Carol was worried. She didn’t want Therese behind the wheel drunk, or even tipsy. She was feeling a little buzzed herself but fit enough to drive. She had sobered up for the most part and it was only 10 minutes to her own place. Maybe she could let Therese crash on her couch for the night. She didn’t have to be up early, and it would keep Therese off the road tonight. She walked back towards the living room and found Therese watching Amanda play a song she had written on the guitar. Carol admired Therese from the doorway, watching her sway to the music. She was a little off beat, probably the effects of the alcohol. Carol chuckled to herself. _Cute, but I was right, she is in no condition to get herself home._ When Amanda finished the song, she decided it was time to pack up herself and leave so Carol went to sit by Therese.

“Honey,” Therese perked up at the term of endearment. “Why don’t you come home with me?” Therese’s eyes grew to the size of saucers. “I mean, you can come crash at my place. I’ll drive you back here in the morning so you can get your car. They have plans in the morning so it would just be easier on everyone if you stayed at my place. Besides, you’ll probably want plenty of time to sleep off the alcohol.” Carol winked at her. Therese just couldn’t control herself and leaned towards her. Carol stood when she sensed the proximity between them dwindling. “Come on, it’s late. Besides I’m sure they’re ready for us to get out of their hair. Where’s your purse?” Therese mumbled forcing Carol to lean down to her level. “Sweetheart, you’re going to have to speak up.”

Therese looked at her straight on. “Sitting on the chair in the entry way, I think.”

They both said their goodbyes and headed out towards Carol’s car. Climbing in, with eyes half open, Therese turned to the driver’s side. “Thank you for giving me a ride and a place for the night.” Her speech was slurred a bit. “I’m a little embarrassed I got so drunk. It’s terribly irresponsible. I feel like I should apologize for putting you to all this trouble.”

“Don’t worry about it, there’s really no need to thank me or apologize. We all have nights where we just need to let loose.”

The car ride to Carol’s place was as quiet as the streets were. As they walked from the car up the three flight of stairs to her apartment, Therese softly started humming a tune Carol couldn’t quite make out.

“What are you humming?”

“I Wanna Dance with Somebody.”

“Ah, Whitney Houston, right? Great song. And who would you like to dance with?” As they reached her door, Carol pulled out her key and stuck it in the lock.

“You.”

Carol froze. _Walked right into that one, didn’t I?_ She was treading in dangerous waters. She turned the key and opened the door, trying to brush off the comment. _She’s still a little drunk. Maybe she’ll just gloss over the moment or drop it or…….something…_

“Home sweet home. Do you need any water or anything before we get sleeping arrangements made?”

“No, but I would like to use the restroom if you don’t mind.”

“Of course! It’s the door on the left side of the little hallway.” While Therese was in the bathroom, Carol changed into her pajamas and proceeded to pull out a large warm blanket from her bedroom closet and grabbed a pillow off the bed. She turned to go back into the living room but was startled to find Therese standing silently in the doorway.

“Oh hello! You can take the bed, I’m going to move to the couch.”

“Carol that’s stupid, I’m the one imposing, I’m not going to take your bed and make you sleep on the couch. I’ll take the couch.” She moved to take the bedding out of Carol’s arms.

“Oh no, you’re a guest so you get the bed. Besides, if you wake up with a hangover you’ll definitely want to be…” She trailed off when she realized Therese’s hands were on her own.

Therese took advantage of the courage the last bit of alcohol still in her system gave her. “We’re obviously not going to agree on this.” She looked over Carol’s shoulder. “It looks like a nice big bed. Why don’t we just both sleep in here?”

Carol was at a loss for words. She was tempted. But wouldn’t that be going too far? Things had already gone this far, though. _You’re an adult. You have self-control. Besides, she’s drunk, never in your life would you take advantage of someone like that._ “Alright. Do you need anything else before we go to bed?”

Therese brushed past her into the room. “Nope. I just wanna sleep.” Therese took off her shoes and climbed in the right side of the bed, facing to the left and closed her eyes. She heard Carol moving around the room and then sensed her fiddling with the pillows. She open her eyes and found Carol peering down at her. There was silence between them until Carol finally moved back across the room to turn off the light. Therese closed her eyes once more. She felt the opposite side of the bed sink as Carol climbed in. After a few moments she sneaked one more peek at Carol. She was staring at her again. Therese sighed. _I can’t believe I’m in bed with this woman. God, she’s so beautiful. Her skin is so smooth, her eyes seemed to be trying to tell me something. But what?_ Therese was still feeling dizzy. _And her lips. They look so soft. I wonder what they would feel like._ “Can I kiss you goodnight?”

Carol nearly let out a gasp. This was all a bad idea. She never should’ve brought Therese home, she never should’ve agreed to sleep in the same bed with her. But it was too late. “Go to sleep, Therese.” She watched her close her eyes. Soon her breathing evened out. Carol turned over thinking ahead to the morning. She would make breakfast for the both of them. As soon as Therese woke and they ate, she would take her back to her car and forget this whole night ever happened.

Carol jumped. A warm arm had draped itself over her waist. She heard Therese sigh in her sleep behind her. God it felt so natural. The temptation was about to reach the breaking point. Carol gently slipped out of bed trying not to wake Therese. Taking her pillow and grabbing a blanket once more from the closet, Carol exited the room, quietly closing the door behind her and went to set the bedding on the couch. Before getting comfortable, she grabbed her phone out of her purse on the kitchen counter.

**Abby, I’ve put myself in a terrible position.**

She got herself a cold glass of water to cool down with and drank it all at once. She heard her phone ping. Before checking the message, she turned her phone on silent.

**What have you done now?**

**Guess who is passed out in my bed right now?**

**You’re shitting me. Is it who I think it is?**

**Maybe…**

**Therese?? Carol! Who knew you had it in you!!!**

**No, it’s not like that!! She got drunk at a party and had nowhere to stay or way to get home.**

**Oh…well what’s so bad about that?**

**We couldn’t agree on who would take the couch so we both ended up in my bed and before she fell asleep she asked to kiss me.**

**Oh my god!! What did you do??**

**I didn’t do anything! She was still tipsy at best so I told her to go to sleep and she did. I moved myself to the couch after. I’m just worried about what’s going to happen in the morning.**

**Just act calm and normal like nothing happened. Even if she does remember she may be too embarrassed to want to talk about it. Okay? Don’t let things get sloppy or complicated. You’ve still got more than a month to have to work with each other!**

**I know, I know, I’ll text you an update tomorrow. I don’t know why you’re up so late. BUT I don’t wanna know!**

**Oh I’ll tell you at our next lunch date why. ;) Get some rest, Carol.**

**Goodnight, Abby.**

Carol set her phone down and moved the blanket up to her shoulders. Sleep overcame her quickly.

 

 

Someone was shaking her shoulder. Carol woke up dazed. Therese was standing over her. She silently got down on her knees, still slightly hovering over Carol. It looked as though dawn was just beginning to break as a small amount of light was coming through the window.

“Is everything okay, Therese?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“Yet?” Before she could sit up, Therese leaned in a kissed Carol square on the mouth.


	9. Chapter 9

“Is everything okay, Therese?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“Yet?” Before she could sit up, Therese leaned in a kissed Carol square on the mouth.

Carol woke with a start, slightly sweating. The room was still dark. She looked at the time on her phone, wincing at the bright screen. It was just after 5 a.m. She hadn’t been asleep long. She walked towards the bathroom but stopped in front of her bedroom. She stuck her head in to check on Therese. She was still fast asleep. Carol went on to the bathroom to splash cool water on her face. Now she was dreaming about Therese. _Holy hell._

She wanted to cry. She hated not feeling in control and right now she was anything but. She patted her face dry, turned off the light and headed back towards the living room. She laid on the couch for a while but couldn’t fall back asleep. She was too afraid of a repeat of her dream. It had seemed so real for that split second their lips touched. If she concentrated, she could still feel them, Therese’s soft lips pressed hard against her own. If only. 

After a while Carol got up once more and turned on a lamp. She was much too restless and keyed up. She began to clean what little mess there was in the living to keep herself occupied and then moved to do the same in the kitchen.

By the time she finished it was almost 5:45. She looked around in her cabinets trying to plan out what to make for breakfast. She decided on French toast but was a little lacking on ingredients. She snuck back into her room and grabbed a pair of yoga pants, bra, and a sweatshirt and moved to the bathroom to change. She wrote a note that said “Out to grab some things to make breakfast, I’ll be back soon” and taped it to the bedroom door. She didn’t expect Therese to wake up before she got back but she thought it better to be safe than sorry.

 

Therese woke to the smell of coffee. She bolted upright in bed looking around in confusion and alarm. _Where in the hell am I!?_ Just then a splitting headache overtook her. She put a hand to her head and groaned. _Oh yeah, I drank last night. But who did I come home with?_

“Therese, are you awake?”

_Oh no._ It was starting to come back to her now in pieces. Carol had brought her home. She remembered the car ride and walking up some stairs. Maybe going to the bathroom? She couldn’t remember much else with this headache, though.

“Therese?” Carol poked her head in the door. “Good morning, sleepy head!”

Therese blushed. “Good morning, Carol. What time is it?”

“Almost 10:30. How do you feel?”

Therese chuckled. “Not great actually. I’ve got one hell of a headache.”

“I’ll get you some pain reliever. Think you can make it to the kitchen for some breakfast?”

“Yeah, I’m just gonna wash up in the bathroom first.” Carol nodded and walked out. Therese swung her feet over the side of the bed and stood. She felt a small wave of nausea wash over her. She was ready to get something in her stomach. She slowly made her way across the hall. As she used the restroom, bits and pieces from the previous night started coming back to her in more detail. She definitely remembered using the restroom before bed. She had washed her face and then…then what? All she could remember was the feeling of the soft bed, her shoes were off. She opened her eyes. Carol was watching her. But Carol was in bed too. Had they both slept in the same bed?

Therese was washing her hands now. Something else had happened, she could feel it. But what? She dried her hands and opened the door which prompted Carol to call out that breakfast was ready. And then it hit Therese. She had asked to kiss Carol.

Therese thought her knees were going to buckle out from under her, she grabbed onto the door frame. _God, what a fucking idiot I am! I’m never drinking again. Never never never! Oh Jesus, what does Carol think!?_

“Therese?” Carol rounded the corner and found a pale Therese struggling to stand. “Oh honey, are you okay? Let’s get you sat down. You must have one hell of a hangover!”

Therese was screaming inside as Carol put an arm around her. But as mortified as she was she didn’t put up a fight or run, instead she let Carol lead her to the couch and sat down. It was then she noticed a pillow and blanket neatly folded on one end.

“Did you sleep out here, Carol?”

Carol looked at a loss for words for a moment. “Yes I did.”

So it had all been a dream. Something made up. More wishful thinking than reality in her head. Therese felt her embarrassment dissipate.

“Oh, well I didn’t mean to put you out! You should have put me on the couch. Drunk as I was I wouldn’t have known the difference! I barely even remember making it up the stairs!”

_So she doesn’t remember asking to kiss me._ Carol knew she should feel relieved. But she didn’t. In fact she felt rather disappointed. She headed into the kitchen to grab water and medicine for Therese.

“It’s alright, don’t fret over it. The night has already passed and there’s nothing we can do to change it now.”

Therese thought it strange the way Carol spoke, as if she weren’t just referring to the sleeping arrangements, but she shrugged it off.

The rest of the morning pssed quietly. The two women talked a bit about rehearsal later that evening, but for the most part, they were quiet. They cleaned up after finishing their meal, both acutely aware of their proximity to each other all the while. Then it was time to get Therese back to her car.

During the short drive, Carol yawned. “Mmm, sorry. I don’t mean to keep yawning, I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“See! I told you I should’ve taken the couch, I can sleep anywhere!”

“No, it wasn’t that.”

“Oh? Bad dream?”

Carol was silent for a moment. “Sort of.”

“What was it about?”

Carol fibbed. “I don’t remember exactly. It was just one of those times when you wake up and don’t remember what you were dreaming about but you have this awful lingering feeling from whatever it was and you just know it wasn’t…good.”

“I know what you mean.” The car pulled into the neighborhood where Therese’s car was. “Well thank you so much for letting me crash at your place. I still feel bad for getting so drunk, but I really appreciate it.” Carol put the car in park and unbuckled her seat belt as Therese opened the passenger door to get out.

They met in between the cars as Therese fished her keys out of her purse. “You sure you feel well enough to drive?”

“Oh yeah, my headache’s just about gone and otherwise I feel fine. I may go back to bed though when I get home till it’s time to get ready for rehearsal.”

“I think that’s a very sound idea. Drive safe, Therese.”

“I will!” Therese gave in to her impulse before she had a chance to think twice about it and stepped forward to hug Carol. “Thank you, again, Carol.”

Carol felt paralyzed. It took her a moment before she got over the initial shock of having Therese’s arms around her. Then she slowly moved her own arms around her waist. She felt an odd sense of security in the girl’s embrace. She hugged her a little tighter and let her chin rest on Therese’s shoulder.

Therese inhaled. Carol smelt wonderful. There was a hint of some floral fragrance, probably left over from whatever perfume she had worn the night before. But there was something else. Another smell that was warm and inviting and earthy, a scent that Therese could only imagine to be Carol herself.

When the two women finally parted, they looked at each other and giggled shyly. Therese started to make her way towards the car, walking backwards, waving. “I’ll see you tonight, Car-” Suddenly Therese tripped and fell to the ground hitting her elbow hard and scraping her knee.

“Therese!” Carol ran to her side and squatted down on the ground beside her. “Are you okay?” She grabbed Therese’s injured elbow unknowingly. Therese hissed in pain. “Oh I’m sorry! Here let me look at it.” Therese pulled away on instinct. “No I won’t hurt you, I’ll be careful.”

Therese let Carol look her elbow over. “It’s not scraped too bad, you may just end up with a really bad bruise. Therese, your knee!” They both looked down to see a rip in Therese’s pants and blood seeping through and soaking the surrounding fabric. Therese started to tear up a bit, both her knee and elbow stung badly. Carol looked back up and saw she was close to tears.

She put her hand on Therese’s cheek. “Darling don’t cry, you’ll be fine! Let’s see if the Harrisons are home now by any chance.” Carol put Therese’s arm around her shoulder and grabbed Therese’s waist, hoisting her up. “Does it hurt your knee to walk?” Therese tried putting pressure on her left leg but winced. “That’s okay, I’ll help you. Come on. We’ll get you cleaned up inside.”

Jeanette by luck was home and ushered the two women inside. Therese and Carol headed into the bathroom while Jeanette found a pair of shorts for Therese to change into so they could clean up her knee. As she pulled out the first aid kit, the home phone rang and Jeanette excused herself to answer it, leaving Carol and Therese alone. Carol shut the door to the bathroom prompting Therese to look up questioningly from where she sat on the edge of the bathtub.

“You need to change into those shorts, I thought it’d be better to close the door, just in case.” Therese nodded, taking off her shoes and socks, and started to unbutton her pants. Carol turned away to give her some privacy. But when Therese hissed in pain she turned back around to find her struggling. “Do you need help?” Therese nodded again, silently.

Therese had managed to get the pants pulled over her behind but couldn’t get them slid off, the movement against her knee was too painful. Carol instructed her to brace herself on the side of the tub and slowly straighten both her legs out if possible. Therese managed, only wincing once or twice.

Carol worked to slid her the pants off as gently as she could. Every once in a while, her fingers would graze against the side of Therese’s thigh or calf, making her close her eyes at the contact. At one point, Therese could’ve sworn she was caressing the underside of her injured knee longer than was necessary. She couldn’t tell if the goosebumps were from the cool air suddenly hitting her newly exposed skin or if it was from Carol’s touch. Whatever it was, she didn’t want it to stop. 

Carol managed to get the pants off without too much fuss. When she tried to hand the shorts Jeanette had brought in to Therese, she found her eyes closed.

“Therese? You alright?” Her eyes sprang open.

“Oh, yes. Fine.” She took the shorts and delicately slid them on, blushing. Carol averted her eyes.

Next Carol took out an alcohol wipe from the first aid kit and wiped it over Therese’s elbow. The scratch wasn’t bad enough to need a band-aid so she grabbed a towel to pat it dry and then moved on to the injured knee. She clean the blood around it and then took out hydrogen peroxide to pour over the wound.

“Swing your legs inside the tub, that way if we make a mess with this there won’t be much of a cleanup.” Therese did as she was told and Carol knelt beside her by the tub. She poured the peroxide, apologizing when Therese flinched at the stinging pain. She gently patted the wound dry. It was deep, but bad not enough to need stitches. “You must’ve landed on a rock or something.” After Therese swung her legs back outside the tub, Carol put some ointment on her knee, covered it with a piece of gauze, and wrapped it.

After she was finished she noticed the rest of Therese’s leg was wet from the peroxide. She grabbed the towel and gingerly dried her lower leg, running her hand along it as she went. She didn’t know what had come over her. Therese was so soft, she could feel the muscle in her calf twitch. She heard a whisper in her ear.

“Carol?” She looked up to find Therese’s face inches from her own.

“Yes, darling?”

Therese looked down at her lips and drew nearer. Their noses were touching. Carol could feel her breath on her lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me. ;)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Read my ending note before you all give up on me!

Therese looked down at her lips and drew nearer. Their noses were touching. Carol could feel her breath on her lips.

“Hey ladies, how’s everything going in there?”

The two jumped apart and instantly Carol was on her feet.

“Fine!” She opened the door to find Jeanette holding two glasses of water. “We’re all done in here.”

Jeanette looked over Carol’s shoulder. “Poor thing looks so pale, must’ve taken quite a tumble. Here some water, thought you might be thirsty.”

_You have no idea._ Carol sipped her water and watched as Jeanette gave Therese the other glass.

“You can wear the shorts home, return them whenever at a rehearsal in the future. I can wash and mend your pants if you’d like.”

“Oh no, Mrs. Harrison, please-“

“Now Therese, what did I tell you about calling me Mrs. Harrison?”

“Sorry, Jeanette.” Therese smiled. “But you really don’t have to do that.”

“Do you know how to sew or mend?”

“Well no, but-“

“Well that settles it. We’ll do a trade of leg wear another day. Now! Do you think you can make it home or do you want to stick around here till rehearsal?”

Therese looked towards the doorway in hopes of finding an answer. Maybe Carol would let her stay with her again. But she was gone. Therese’s heart sank. They were so close. Another moment and…She didn’t really want to be alone right now but she needed time to process what had just happened. Or rather, what had almost happened.

“Thank you, Jeanette, but I’ll be fine. I should be able to drive without any problems. I’d like to sleep a bit more when I get home.”

Jeanette laughed. “Ah, the party take its toll on you?”

Therese looked down. “Something like that.”

Jeanette turned around. “Where in the world did Carol run off to?” She exited the bathroom, giving Therese a chance to collect herself as well as her things and started to hobble out. Her leg didn’t hurt quite so much as it did before. She headed towards the front door. Through the front window, she could see Carol smoking a cigarette. She heard moving about in the kitchen and walked through finding Jeanette.

“Thank you for everything, I think I’m going to go ahead and head out. I’ll see you soon.”

“Alright, hun, take it easy and be safe going home.”

“Will do!” Therese turned to leave and heard the front door open. She peered cautiously around the corner and saw Carol head in the opposite direction back towards the bathroom. She took this as her opportunity to slip out the front herself.

She made it to her car, gingerly stepped inside and started the engine. She looked out the rearview mirror as she put her seatbelt on and saw Carol coming out of the Harrison’s house and head towards their cars. Therese put the car in drive and hit the gas, running away from her problems like she always did.

Carol watched Therese’s car take off down the road, unable to stop her. She wanted to know that Therese was okay. God knows she wasn’t. She came that close to kissing the girl. Her face had consumed her entire vision and Carol was sure there wasn’t any other face that would look so beautiful as hers. She wanted to wind her hands through Therese’s brunette hair and pull her closer, to finally feel those lips she had dreamed of.

Without even realizing it, Carol had found her way home. She was absolutely drained. She slowly trudged up the stairs and let herself in to her apartment. She went straight to her room where she fell face first into the bed, kicked off her shoes and burrowed under the covers, content to sleep the afternoon away. But something was different. Something that put Carol at ease. Breathing deeply, Carol slipped out of consciousness.

Carol was standing on the dark stage of the theatre. She looked around in the dark silence, trying to get her bearings. As her eyes adjusted, she noticed a dark figure sitting in the audience. She walked down the steps towards it, her heart beating faster the closer she got. But she wasn’t afraid. She knew who it was without even having to see her face. The figure stood up and met Carol in the aisle. Carol ran the back of her fingers over a porcelain cheek. She ran her thumb over a moist lip where a soft moan escaped.

“Ask me again, Therese.” Therese looked up at her.

“Can I kiss you goodnight?” Carol nodded. Therese stood on her tip toes and softly pressed her lips against Carol’s once. Twice. Carol pulled away and looked into Therese’s eyes. She saw lust and longing, mirroring the things she felt in herself. She took Therese in her arms and kissed her firmly, running her tongue along her bottom lip. She felt Therese open her mouth to her.

Suddenly an alarm started going off. The pair looked up above them where the sound seemed to come from and saw a growing bright light.

Carol open her eyes, the 4:00 p.m. light shining through the window making her squint and groan. She rolled over grabbing her phone, shutting off the alarm. She threw the covers off her and headed towards the bathroom to shower before rehearsal.

 

 Therese drove home in silence thinking about the last almost 24 hours. So much had happened in so little time. By now she was sure, she couldn’t have been imagining all the signs, Carol felt something for her. But what was there to do about it? What would happen the next time they saw each other, or were alone together? All the questions swirling in her head provoked another headache.

Therese walked in her front door and heard meowing coming from her bedroom. Her two other roommates didn’t appear to be home so she opened her bedroom door to let her cat, Vanessa, roam around freely. She ran out towards the living room window where she liked to perch and watch people pass outside.

Therese moved to her bathroom where she stripped and stepped into the shower. She let her eyes drift shut as she stood under the hot water. She could see a flash of gold curls, grey stormy eyes, Carol moving around her, like a panther circling its prey. She came to a stop in front of Therese and kneeled. Suddenly she could feel Carol’s hands on her leg again, caressing, moving up to her knee, but it didn’t stop there. Her hand continued past her knee, up the inside of her thigh. Therese felt her back hit the cold wall, prompting her to open her eyes, finding herself alone once more in the shower. She shook her head clear of her daydream.

After getting out of the shower, Therese took some more pain reliever and grabbed her phone to call Maureen. She wanted to let her know of her knee injury and though she would still be at rehearsal, she would be sitting and watching, taking it easy just for tonight.

“Oh no! Are you going to be okay?”

“It’s just a few bad scraps, no stitches or broken bones, I should be good as new in a couple of days!”

“Well why don’t you take today off? We can manage without you, and I’d hate for you to come all this way just to sit and watch. Get some rest and we’ll see you tomorrow, alright?”

“Alright, thank you, Maureen!”

Therese texted the group that she wouldn’t be going to rehearsal and finally climbed into bed where she plugged her phone into the charger by her head. Vanessa jumped up on the bed curling into a ball against Therese’s feet.

A few hours later Therese woke to her phone ringing. She sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and unplugged the phone from the charger.

“Hello?”

“Therese?”

She didn’t recognize the voice on the other end. “This is she.” There was silence on the other end. “Who is this?”

Another moment of silence. “It’s Carol.”

This time it was Therese’s turn to be silent. “Carol?”

“Yes, I got your number from Ann, I hope you don’t mind. I noticed you weren’t at rehearsal tonight and worried. I just wanted to check up on you. How’s your knee feel?”

“Um, it’s fine I think. I’ve pretty much been asleep since I got home.”

“I woke you didn’t I?”

“No, no. I mean yes, but it’s fine. I didn’t even mean to sleep so long. I’ll probably be up late tonight now.” She tried to laugh casually.

“Well in that case would you like to have dinner with me? I could come pick you up in an hour.”

Therese was absolutely stunned. “Dinner? I-well, um….Can you give me a second, Carol?” Therese moved the phone away from her taking a deep breath. God knows she wanted to go to dinner with Carol. But why did Carol want to go to dinner with her? After what happened early, Therese wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. But she couldn’t pass up this chance. Chance. Isn’t that what everyone had told her before? Not to run away, to give people, life, a chance?

“I’d love to go to dinner with you, Carol.”

“Great. Text me your address, I’ll be there in an hour or so. Bye, Therese.” Therese melted. Every time Carol said her name she was sure she was that much closer to falling for the woman. Therese texted Carol her address and some simple instructions on how to find her apartment and sprang into action to get ready. She fixed up her hair and put on a little bit of makeup to enhance her eyes and lips.

She stood in front of her closet at a loss for what to wear. Go casual? Carol was driving all this way to pick her up, they probably won’t be going somewhere quick. But she didn’t want to over dress, no one said this was a date. Maybe somewhere in the middle. She pulled out a deep maroon cotton dress with short sleeves and a braided belt to wear at the waist. She pair it with a simple nude pair of heels just as a knock came at the front door.

Therese’s heart leapt into her throat. She checked her reflection once more before grabbing her purse and locking Vanessa back in her room. She peered through the peep hole and saw blonde curls. Pushing away a sense of déjà vu, she unlocked and opened the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the torture!   
> But I assure you, tomorrow's chapter will bring relief!   
> Thank you for sticking with me thus far, I hope I do not disappoint.   
> Comments welcome!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy, lovelies!

A vision meet her sight, leaving her speechless. No longer did a girl stand before her, but a woman, with soft curves, bright eyes, and silky dark hair.

“Hi.” A touch of pink crept into Therese’s cheeks, making Carol smile.

“You look wonderful. Are you ready to go?”

“Yes, let me just turn off the lights.” Carol held the door open as Therese retreated back inside. Once everything was off, Therese made her way back to the door and the pair stepped outside. Carol walked ahead while Therese locked up and when she followed, she admire the knee length dress Carol wore from behind. It was a soft turquoise color, but the top half was transparent with little lace designs, giving Therese a luxurious view of her back.

Therese felt awkward and unsure of herself. The drive was very quiet, she didn’t know what to say, she wasn’t good at small talk. _What am I doing here? Why did I ever agree to dinner? I want to go back home and hide under the covers with my cat._ Therese unknowingly sighed loudly, prompting a look from Carol.

“Are you okay?”

Therese looked over at her. “What do you mean?”

“You left Jeanette’s so quickly today. You didn’t even say goodbye.”

“I told Jeanette I was leaving.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

Therese was stunned. This was the conversation she was afraid of having. “I’m fine.”

Carol almost didn’t hear her response.

“So where are we going?”

“Ever heard of the restaurant Harbor Lights in Norwalk?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“You’ll love it. I hope you like seafood!” Therese smiled for the first time in Carol’s car.

When they got to the restaurant, Carol led the way inside. She gave her name to the hostess who led them to the back of the restaurant, seating them at a table overlooking the waterfront. Therese noticed everyone in the room watching Carol as they walked through. She felt a sense of pride being her date for the evening. They both sat down, Therese admiring the room.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Therese turned towards Carol, she was looking out the window commenting on the water. But Therese didn’t even bother to look.

“Exquisite.” Carol turned to look at her. Therese looked down at her menu.  

A waiter came by to take their drink orders. Therese ordered the house Chardonnay and Carol the Australia Shiraz, Wolf Blass red wine.  When the waiter left, Carol smirked.

“I didn’t know you were old enough to drink.”

“Of course I am, I’m 22!”

“Oh, such an old woman!” Carol laughed. Therese knew she was teasing but she didn’t find much humor in it. She didn’t want Carol to see her as a child.

The rest of dinner went by rather smoothly. They even shared a few laughs in between bites. When it came time for dessert, the two passed and decided to take a walk along the water’s edge nearby.

It was dimly light along the shoreline. The air was warm but there was a nice breeze blowing, tussling Carol’s curls to one side, providing a wonderful view of her neck for Therese. They walked quietly, enjoying the lights reflecting off the water. Their hands brushed up against each other gently and Therese moved a step away from Carol, but not without notice.

Carol spotted a bench up ahead and grabbed Therese’s hand. “Let’s sit for a little bit.” As Carol pulled her along, Therese starred at their connected hands. She suddenly felt extremely hot and pulled at the neckline of her dress.

Carol let go and sat down, leaving Therese standing. She noticed her staring at her now empty fingers and smirked. She grabbed her hand once more and tugged till Therese sat down, but this time she didn’t release her hold.

 “Talk to me. What are you thinking?”

Therese stared out over the water, the wine she had at dinner giving her courage once more. “I’m thinking about earlier today. With you.”

Carol squeezed her hand gently, urging her on. “And?”

“And. And I don’t know.” She took a deep breath, still keeping her focus on the water. “Carol, did I ask to kiss you last night?” When she didn’t receive an answer she looked over at Carol. Carol was now looking towards the waterfront, a boat was slowly passing bye. Suddenly she stood.

“Let’s keep walking.” She walked a few feet but stopped when she realized Therese wasn’t following. She turned to find Therese standing, watching her. “Are you coming slow poke?”

“I did ask, didn’t I?”

Carol kept her distance. “And what if you did? Obviously you remember. What matter does it make?”

“We almost kissed at Jeanette’s today.”

“Therese-“

“Did we? At least answer me that, Carol. Am I imagining things? Why did you ask me to dinner?”

Carol approached her in slow deliberate steps. “Therese.”

Her response was quick, almost breathless. “Yes?” Carol looked around. There were a few people nearby. Carol took Therese’s hand and led her towards a patch of trees. When she stopped, Therese ripped her hand free from Carol’s. She was tired of this little game, she wanted an answer from Carol.

“What are we doing here, Carol? Answer me!” Carol abruptly advanced towards her, backing her into a tree, placing her hands on either side of Therese. A strained silence surrounded them.

Carol searched her eyes. She saw the longing and lust she had dreamt of in those dark orbs. But there was something else. A touch of fear. Carol removed her hands and stepped back.

“Please don’t.” Therese grabbed Carol’s hand. “Don’t shut me out.” She pulled Carol back towards her, placing her hand on her own waist.

Carol shut her eyes. Taking measured breaths. They were in waters more dangerous than ever. “Therese, please. We can’t.”

“Why not?”

“It’s just not right.”

“What’s wrong with the way we feel? Or is it you don’t feel the same?” Carol looked away, removing her hand from Therese’s waist. Therese grabbed her shoulders to stop her. “Please, Carol. Be honest with me. Answer this one question. Do you or don’t you feel something for me?”

“Therese, it’s not that sim-“

“Yes or no, Carol.”

Carol looked down at Therese’s lips. God how she had longed to kiss those lips.

“Yes.” She surged forward, lips crashed together, pushing Therese against the tree. She moved her hands up to cradle her head as Therese’s hands moved to Carol’s waist, pulling her impossibly closer.

Lips danced across each other as soft moans filled the air. Therese was in bliss, unable to tell where she ended and Carol began. It felt so right, heavenly even. She sent up a prayer, thanking God for putting her in the arms of someone as alluring as Carol.

Carol felt like a dam within her had broken, a dam that had been holding back her happiness, like her heart had been suffocated but was now free to beat and breathe in life and love for the first time in over a year. A year. Last year.

Carol pulled away, detaching herself from Therese’s hold. Therese whimpered at the loss of contact. Carol felt her eyes start to water.

“I’m sorry, Therese.”

“I’m not.” She stepped forward, trying to pull Carol back into her embrace.

“No, we really can’t. It’s not good for either of us. It will only cause trouble.”

“How do you know what’s good for us, before there’s even a chance for us to happen?”

“I just do. Please believe me and let it alone.”

“What are you afraid of, Carol?”

“Nothing. There’s just too much in our way. We work together, the difference in our age, my past and you have a future ahead of you, you don’t need me to weigh you done.”

“We are both adults, we can distinguish a work relationship and a personal one. Age is just a number, I have no qualms about the difference between us. Your past is behind you, and my future is for me to decide. Try again.” Carol hugged her arms around her torso and looked down. “Carol, don’t. Do not shut me out.

Carol turned and started walking. “It’s time to take you home.”

“Carol.” But she didn’t stop. “Carol!” She ran after her, getting in front of her forcing her to stop. “Carol, I will asking you once. Please do not turn away from me. Tell me truthfully. Why can’t we be together? What scares you?”

Carol’s tears softly spilled over. “Don’t ask me, Therese, please stop asking me.” And at that, Carol broke. She tipped forward, Therese catching her as a sob ripped through her body. Therese could feel hot tears on her neck as Carol burrowed her face in anguish.

Therese held the blonde for a few minutes, stroking her back, trying to comfort her.

“Carol, give me your keys. Let me drive you home. I can take the couch this time, I don’t want you trying to drive in this state.”

Carol lifted her head, her voice still dripping with emotion. “Take me home with you. I don’t want to be alone tonight. I can drive myself back in the morning.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’m sure you have classes you need to be at, I won’t let you miss them for me. When you wake up, I can leave. Please take me with you.”

“Alright.”

 

Carol fell asleep in the passenger seat on the drive to Therese’s apartment. Therese couldn’t wrap her head around everything that had happened. She had Carol for one glorious moment and then lost her. She needed to know what was tormenting Carol. She looked over to where she was sleeping. God, she was a vision.

Therese parked her car and turned off the engine. She gently shook Carol’s shoulder. “We’re here.”

She woke, and looked around out the window. “Thank you for driving, darling.” Therese closed her eyes, feeling her heart jump.

Therese led her inside. Vanessa ran out into the living room when the bedroom door opened, startling Carol.

“Sorry, I forgot to warn you. You aren’t allergic, are you?”

“No.” Carol walked in and sat on the edge of the bed to take in the room. There were posters on the walls of different classic Hollywood movies and actresses; Gone with the Wind, The Heiress, Ingrid Bergman, Lauren Bacall, and Audrey Hepburn. _This girl truly is different._

“I think I have some clothes you can borrow. You can use the bathroom, I’m going to move into the living room for the night. If you need anything just come…” Therese trailed off. Carol had softly taken hold of her wrist.

“Stay with me tonight.” Carol wasn’t looking at her. Therese pried her hand off her wrist and sat down, cradling it in her lap.

“On one condition. In the morning, I’ll make you some coffee and eggs, and then you have to talk to me. You have to tell me what’s really going on. Carol, look at me. I care. I will not hurt you.”

Carol smiled sadly. “Do we ever set out to hurt anyone?” A moment passed between them. She nodded in defeat. “Should I take the bathroom first or you?”

“You go ahead.”

Therese changed in the bedroom while Carol was inside. When she came out they passed each other without a glance and she went in to use the restroom and wash her face. When she turned off the light and came out, she was not prepared for what awaited her on the bed.

Even with an old t-shirt on, no makeup, and curls brushed out, Carol was the most striking woman she had ever seen. She was already under the covers of the full sized bed, scooted to the far side, eyes closed. Vanessa had made herself comfortable as well, lying at the end of the bed beside Carol’s feet. Therese turned off the lights and slid under the covers. She watched Carol for a while, fighting the urge to reach out and touch her. She was so close. Therese turned over, facing away from Carol and shut her eyes.

Suddenly she felt a hand at her back and a voice came out of the darkness. “Thank you, Therese.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It may not be everything you wanted but there is much more to come!  
> I hope this chapter tides you over for an extra day or two, I need time to think about what I want revealed in the coming chapters!  
> Any and all thoughts and comments welcome!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was turning out so long that I've split it into two but that meant this chapter got the short end of the stick sooo it's short.  
> Chapter 13 will be posted early tomorrow though and you will get the explanation you have been waiting for!  
> Thank for reading, comments and thoughts are welcome and encouraged!

Therese woke to buzzing and the faint sound of her phone going off. She stumbled out of bed and across the room to where her phone was. When she reached her bag, she sat of the floor, trying to find the phone before it quit ringing.

“Hello?” She yawned.

“Therese, did you seriously just wake up?” It was Danny.

“So what if I did?”

“Well that explains why you’re late for our coffee date.”

“Shit, that was today! Sorry, I just had a late night and…….” Oh God, Carol. “Danny, I’ll talk to you later. I’ve gotta go.”

“Therese wait!” But she didn’t hear. She hung up, dropped her phone, and stood turning towards her bed; her empty bed. _Where did she go?_ The bathroom door was open and empty inside. She opened her door and peered out into the living room. “Carol?” But there was no answer. Therese swore aloud.

She rushed back into her room and picked up her phone. She looked through her incoming call history, found Carol’s number, and called it. When the call went through to voicemail, Therese tried again but there was still no answer. She pulled up her text app and plugged in Carol’s number. But when it came time to actually write a message she was at a loss of what to say.

She wanted answers from Carol. But did she really owe her that? Therese had always given advice to her friends wanting answers from people who would never give them. She always said that no one truly owed anyone anything and we can’t force anyone to give us what we want. Now it was her turn to take her own advice. She had to respect how Carol felt, no matter how wrong it seemed to Therese.

Therese tossed her phone on her bed and went about her morning routine. Finals week still technically had a few days left but today was the last day Therese had any exams. After, she was free for the summer. But even the prospect of that wasn’t enough to lighten her mood. Therese moved through a fog, trapped in her own thoughts, barely noticing what was going on around her.

When she got home she sat down and made a decision. She was going to try to mend the bridge between them, bring a peace offering and support to Carol. She wouldn’t try to force her to do or say anything but to show her that she cared, that she wouldn’t be scared off so easily. She texted the group saying she wouldn’t be going straight home after rehearsal so she’d take her own car. Then she grabbed her purse and headed to the store to buy some wine.

When Therese got to rehearsal later on, Danny pulled her aside.

“So are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

“What do you mean?” Therese looked around, unable to look him in the eyes.

“I mean you hanging up on me this morning, you weren’t here last night, and you’ve got some special place to go later tonight.” Therese tried to walk away from him but he gentle grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “AND you won’t make eye contact with me now. Spill it. What’s going on?” Therese looked down at her feet. “Have anything to do with Carol?” Therese’s head shot up. “That’s what I thought. I saw you two making eyes at each other at the party Saturday night and Ann told me she got your number from her yesterday.”

Therese looked around but there weren’t many people around to hear them, it was still 15 minutes before rehearsal was to start. “I don’t have time to go into specifics.”

“That long a story, huh? Damn!” Therese glared at him.

“Look if I’m going to tell you, you have to keep quiet till the end alright?”

“Okay! I promise. Now spill!”

Therese filled Danny in on the last 48 hours, from crashing at Carol’s place, to the fall at Rebecca’s, and the whole deal with dinner and afterwards the night before. When she was done, Danny was quiet.

“Well? You can speak now.......Say something!”

“Wow.”

“And?”

“And…..wow! Holy shit Therese this is huge! You have to go talk to her. You two have got some serious sexual tension going. If you don’t figure out how to fix this or whatever, one of you is gonna explode and it won’t be pretty.”

“I know, I know! That’s why tonight I’m going to go to her place. I want to apologize and try to resolve what happened and at least try to come out friends at the end of all of this. I’m actually really worried about her. When she started crying last night I just felt so awful for her. I think she needs a shoulder to cry on or someone to listen. I want to be able to do at least that for her.”

Danny squeezed her should. “I think that’s a very thoughtful and wonderful idea.”

Maureen stepped up on stage. “Alright everyone! Let’s get started. We’re just going to run through the first half of the show as best we can. Just to get a sense of where we are. From the top, places everyone!” Danny stood and headed backstage. Therese sunk down in her seat. She wasn’t on for the first few scenes of the show and had some time to kill. She decided it was time to text Judy and fill her in as well.

Carol wasn’t there that evening, to Therese’s relief, it wasn’t one of her scheduled dance rehearsal nights. The end of rehearsal came quickly, they had gotten through the first half of the show faster than expected. After going back and cleaning up a few major issues, Maureen dismissed the cast for the rest of the evening. Walking out to the parking lot, Therese said bye to the girls. When she got to Danny though, her hugged her and whispered in her ear.

“Good luck with your girl.”

 

Therese had the great fortune of regaining most of her memory from the night she had gotten drunk. She was able to remember about where Carol lived. When she pulled into the parking lot, she turned off her car and sat, trying to calm her racing heart and gather her wits about her. Eventually she stuffed her keys in her pocket, grabbed the wine she had bought and got out. As she climbed the stairs, she started rehearsing in her head what she would say when Carol opened the door, if she opened the door, if she was even home. When she came to it, she knocked three times, still lost in her thoughts.

As she waited, she could hear muffled laughter coming from inside. Therese panicked. She shouldn’t have come here, this was a bad idea. Here was Carol enjoying her evening with someone and she was going to ruin it. It was probably someone she was seeing. That explained it all; why they couldn’t be together and why Carol was so upset. She was already with someone but she kissed Therese and felt guilty about it.

Therese turned, ready rush back down to her car when the door swung open followed by a silence. She was too afraid to turn back.

“Therese?” Carol’s voice was full of shock

A woman’s voice came from within the apartment.

“Who is it, Carol?” Therese slowly turned to face her as a striking woman sauntered up behind Carol. She was about the same height as Carol, with brown, almost auburn colored hair curled under. She had a sharp jaw line and a beauty mark to the right of her bright red lips. She was holding a scotch glass in one hand, and put the other on Carol’s shoulder. Therese felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. The woman lowered her chin, seductively looked Therese up and down. “Hello. And who must this be?”


	13. Chapter 13

Carol’s eyes bore into Therese’s.

“Abby, this is Therese. Therese, this is my best friend, Abby.”

“So this is Therese, is it? Well come in, come in!” Abby shouldered past Carol, stepping over the threshold as she pawned her drink off into Carol’s hand and put her arms around Therese’s shoulders and guided her inside.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, Therese. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you!” Therese looked helplessly to Carol but she wouldn’t look in her direction. _Carol told her best friend about me, that must mean something, right?_ “Oh and you brought wine, how lovely! I’ll grab the wine cork for you. Unfortunately, I can’t stay for a drink.” Abby sat Therese on the couch and then looked at her bare wrist, exaggeratedly. “But it’s very late and I have to be at work early in the morning.” She moved to grab her purse and a moment later was at the door. “You two enjoy yourself, talk, drink,” she looked pointedly to Carol “be merry….it was nice to meet you, Therese. Bye!”

The door shut with an echoing thud. The only sound heard with the clicking of Abby’s heels as she got farther and farther away from Carol’s apartment. Carol turned to Therese but neither spoke a word. Therese laughed inwardly. _Guess this is one of those “cut the tension with a knife” moments._ She shifted awkwardly on the couch.

Finally Carol spoke. “Are you going to tell me why you’re here?”

“Yes, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to spoil your evening or make your friend leave. I just wanted to come by and check on you. Thought maybe you could use a friend to talk to or….Well I guess you already have one and I scared her off.”

Carol snorted. “No one could scare Abby off, she was more than happy to leave us alone together.”

“Does she know about us?

“If by us you mean what happened yesterday, then yes.”

Therese couldn’t help but feel a little hurt by Carol’s comment. She looked down and closed her eyes. “I didn’t mean to come here and try to force anything on you or out of you. I just came by to make sure you were okay and to bring a peace offering. I was worried when I woke up this morning and you were gone.”

“Worried?” Carol’s tone was more a challenge than a question.

Therese’s voice was little more than a whisper. “Worried and hurt.”

Carol sighed and came to sit by Therese on the couch.

“You know it wasn’t my intention to hurt you. In fact that was exactly what I was trying so hard not to do. I’m drawn to you Therese, more than I’ve ever been to anyone else in my life. And it scares me. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life and hurt a lot of people.” Carol studied Therese’s face. “I don’t know why, but every time I’m with you I just have this urge to open up to you, to tell you everything.”

Therese tentatively placed her hand on top of Carol’s. “You can trust me.”

Carol moved her hand free and stood. “If we’re going to get into this, we’re going to want that wine you brought.”

After the two were settled with their drinks, Carol began her story.

Carol and her husband, Harge, had been married for 12 years. The marriage had started off fine, they seemed in love, got along. They would’ve liked to have a child but never set out specifically to have one. If it happened, it happened. About six years into the marriage, when Carol was 28, the two started to drift apart. They fought more, saw each other less. Their last hope to salvage their marriage was to have a child.

Carol paused for a moment. “A terrible burden to put on a child. But I also genuinely wanted one, a little girl, someone I could focus my time and energy on, someone I could love.”

For two years, the couple had tried desperately to have a baby. When Carol was 30, she finally got pregnant and it took. The couple was ecstatic, things between them seemed to be on the mend. But six and a half months into the pregnancy, Carol had a miscarriage. The couple was devastated. Carol tried to turn to Harge for comfort but he started staying out later than ever before. Carol turned to Abby for comfort but it turned into a short affair that eventually put a rift in their relationship when Carol decided it had to come to an end. She wanted to make one last ditch effort to mend her marriage. But a year later when she realized Harge had been having affairs she decided she would see other people as well, namely women.

“Why I never thought then to ask for a divorce I don’t know. I think I was too afraid of being alone and Harge didn’t know I knew of his affairs or that I was having mine. It was one of the most inhumane relationships I’ve ever had in my entire life.”

But a little over a year ago, something happened. Carol met a woman named Melissa, whom she would come to refer to as Missy. Carol was immediately taken with her. They met in a coffee shop in Norwalk and began seeing each other. Carol soon fell in love with Missy.

“She was the kindest woman I had ever met and she had incredible determination and drive in everything she did.” Carol stood and walked to the coffee table on the opposite side of the room. She picked up a photo and walked back to the couch, handing it to Therese. It was a photo of Carol and a red headed woman. The two made a gorgeous pair. Therese felt a pang of jealousy but soon softened when Carol continued her story.

“I’ll give you the shortened version. We’re running low on wine.”

Carol and Missy had been together for almost a half and year when Harge found out. He had gone through her phone one night while Carol was asleep. He had grown suspicious of her. She usually would return home from seeing Missy before Harge would make it home late at night as he was out with whatever woman he was seeing at the moment. But there was a few nights one week that Harge had come home early to an empty house. He found a text containing the next date and time Carol was supposed to see Missy.

Unfortunately, Carol wasn’t the only one who went to see Missy that day. Harge had barged in to Missy’s apartment, finding the two in an embrace. Carol had tried to shield Missy from Harge’s harsh words but there was no stopping the man. He stormed out. Carol made sure Missy was okay and rushed home to talk to him. When she got there, she was immediately ambushed by Harge. He threatened to out her and her affair with a woman to anyone and everyone he could in an effort to ruin her career and reputation with the school and the theatre if she didn’t end it with Missy. Carol panicked, she could lose every sense of security she had in her life. She finally gave in, promising to break it off.

Carol was devastated. She had finally found someone she loved, someone she could be herself with, and now they were being ripped apart. Carol’s voice broke and she went silent for a few minutes, gathering herself. She downed the rest of her wine and continued.

“Missy died a few days later. She was hit by a drunk driver. She never even made it to the hospital.”

“Oh Carol, I’m so sorry.” Carol held up her hand to tell Therese she had more to say.

“There was something else though, about the night that Missy died, something I haven’t even told Abby.”

“Carol you really don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“I do. Like I said, there’s just something about you that makes me want to open up. And I think it will answer any questions still you have.” Therese nodded. “The night Missy died, I had told her to come over. Harge was out of town for a few days and I still hadn’t ended things with her at Harge’s demand. When I told her we couldn’t see each other anymore she demanded to know why. I wouldn’t give her an answer but she guessed it was because of Harge. We started arguing. She wasn’t willing to let a man ruin what we had but I just couldn’t risk everything for her. She stormed out and took off before I could stop her. An hour later I got the call. She had been hit head on by a drunk driver who swerved into her lane.”

Carol stared expressionless at the wall. “I guess I’ve always blamed myself for that night. If I could take it all back I would. I would’ve stopped her and promised her the world. After her death, my work didn’t seem so important. I was alone again. Abby and I mended our friendship and she became a rock for me, though we were careful never to let things between us become romantic again. A few months later, I filed for divorce from Harge. He’s been fighting me every step of the way, trying to hold on to me. Why, I don’t know. I guess it’s his pride and his image he’s trying to protect. We’re into month eight of the divorce proceedings now.”

Therese was speechless. The pain Carol had gone through in the last year, she just couldn’t imagine. She felt so guilty for the way she had acted last night. She couldn’t even bring herself to look at Carol, she was so ashamed.

“Carol, I’m so sorry I made you live through all of this again. I feel so awful, I shouldn’t have been so selfish to think only of what I wanted and what I understood.”

“Therese, don’t blame yourself, please. How could you know? It’s my past. And I should’ve dealt with it a long time ago. It was such a painful time for me I never wanted to face it or come to terms with it. And now that’s only caused me even more grief. I should be apologizing to you. For the way I’ve acted these last few days.”

Therese during this time had been staring down into her wine glass. She drained the last bit and looked towards the empty bottle. Carol gently took the glass from her, placed it on the table and took Therese’s hands in her own.

“Darling look at me.” Therese turned and Carol brought a hand up to her cheek. “I’m sorry. I do feel something for you. I so much for you. I’m only afraid of losing you in the end, of feeling the hurt that comes from losing someone you love. I hope now I’ve answered all of your questions.”

Therese’s head was spinning. She didn’t even realize what came out of her mouth next. “Love?”

Carol looked surprised, she hadn’t realized she had let the word slip. _Love. Was this love?_ She wasn’t sure. She had never felt this way before. The only words she could think of to describe what she felt was falling in love. But she didn’t know what to say.

She decided to let her lips answer for her. She brought her other hand up to Therese’s other cheek, framing her face, and leaned forward. Just before she made contact, Carol looked into her eyes.

“May I?”

Therese could only nod her head. Carol closed the gap between them, pressing her lips sweetly to the young woman’s. Therese pushed back urgently, letting out a small whimper. Carol kissed her deeper, moving one hand to the back of her neck, threading her fingers in dark locks of hair. Therese brought her hands up to Carol’s waist, trying to anchor herself down. She felt like she was floating on air. Carol let her tongue drift between them, swiping along Therese’s lower lip, seeking access that Therese gladly provided her. Their tongues met tentatively at first. Therese let out a throaty moan. Carol’s tongue felt smoother than anything she had ever experienced. She wanted more.

She lurched forward, pushing Carol back onto the couch. Carol broke away, trying to catch her breath.

“Therese, my love, slow down.” At hearing Carol call her ‘my love’, Therese leaned forward to steal one more kiss, making Carol laugh. Therese rested her head on Carol chest, breathing in deeply, trying to imprint the moment into her memory.

“It’s late. You should get home.”

“Why? I don’t have class. I’m done for the semester.”

Carol chuckled. “You may be done but I still have to work!”

Therese blushed. “I’m sorry. There I go thinking only of myself again!” She pushed herself off the older woman but Carol grabbed her wrist.

“Darling, don’t apologize.” She kissed the palm of her hand. “Will you be okay to drive?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Can I call you tomorrow?”

“Please do.” Therese grabbed her keys and walked to the front door, Carol following behind. “Text me when you get home so I know you’re safe.”

“I will.” Therese answered shyly. She was unsure about asking for a goodnight kiss and instead reached for the doorknob. But Carol’s hand reached hers first. She looked up at her, as Carol slowly bent her head down, kissing her chastely.

“Goodnight, Therese.” She opened the door for her.

Therese stepped over the threshold. “Goodnight, Carol.” And with that, she turned and walked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Were you surprised? Happy? Sad? Let me know what ya thought!  
> More to come! :)


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the wait! I had a bit of writers block!  
> Enjoy the new chapter!

Carol pressed her forehead against the door. She wanted nothing more than to drag Therese to bed with her but it was all too much too soon. And she was still slightly shaking from her recount of what happened with Missy. Carol walked back to the couch. She sat down and grabbed the photo of her and Missy. She ran her fingers over the red head’s face. She was so happy back then. They both were.

Carol felt a small stab of pain in her heart. She couldn’t help but feel like she was betraying Missy when she was with Therese. Her breathing became ragged and she felt a panic attack coming on. She grabbed her phone and dialed Abby’s number. She was the one person who could calm Carol down. When she answered, Carol gave her a quick recap over what happened after she had left.

“And now I feel like I’m cheating on Missy which is ridiculous I know but I can’t help it. I loved her so much, Abby. I don’t want her to think I didn’t. I feel so much for Therese but it all feels tainted, like I shouldn’t be happy.”

“Carol breathe. Deep breaths and just listen. You loved Missy and she knows that. You loved her because she was a kind, understanding, forgiving soul. Don’t you think she’d want you to be happy now? Even after she was gone?”

“Abby you don’t know the whole story….” Carol hesitated to continue.

“Maybe so. But it doesn’t change the fact that Missy loved you enough to want happiness for you even if now it meant in the arms of someone else.”

Carol sighed. “I guess you’re right.”

“I know I’m right. Now go get some sleep. Stop thinking. Tomorrow’s a new day. Wait to see how you feel in the morning.”

“Alright. Goodnight, Abby. Love you.”

“Love you, nitwit.” The two shared a laughed and Abby hung up.

Carol lay in bed trying to sleep. But all she could image was Therese, lying next to her, lying on her chest again, legs entangled. She sighed and rolled over. She’d never get to sleep like this. She got up and walked into the bathroom. She opened up the medicine cabinet, took out her sleeping pills and took half of one. She still had a few left over from her last prescription from her therapist she stopped seeing two months back.

Right after Carol filed for divorce, Harge had promised if she went to see a therapist he would cooperate in their separation. But after Harge failed to keep his word and Carol realized it was more a ploy to get Carol to “come to her senses” and stay with him, she quite going to her biweekly sessions.

Carol laid back in bed, ready for sleep overtake her when her phone went off.

**It’s Therese. I made it home safely.**

Carol picked it up to answer.

**Thank you for letting me know. Sleep well, sweetheart.**

One more message came through.

**You too. Goodnight, Carol.**

Carol set her phone down and fell asleep.

 

Meanwhile, Therese stood in the middle of her living room at a loss of what to do with herself. She didn’t have anything other than rehearsal tomorrow. In three days she would start her morning summer shifts at her job, but until then she was free to do what she wanted. She’d take advantage tomorrow and sleep in. She was emotionally exhausted but happy. She had accomplished so much more with Carol than she could’ve ever dreamed. She hoped this meant they could have a real relationship. She wanted to text Danny right away but thought better of it.

_I want this thing with Carol to be for myself to relish…At least for a while._ God knew Danny would be pestering her for info by morning. Therese dumped her purse by her bedroom door and flopped down onto the bed smiling. She hadn’t stopped smiling since she’d left Carol’s apartment. Without realizing it, Therese had fallen asleep with the lights on.

 Suddenly she was woken up by her phone ringing. She was still laid out on her stomach but something was weighing her hand down. It was Vanessa. Therese chuckled lowly and slide her hand out from under the cat and grabbed her phone.

“Hello?”

“I’m good at waking you up aren’t I, sleepyhead?”

Therese sighed contently and rolled onto her back. “I wish it wasn’t always over the phone.”

Carol laughed. “Well I hope you don’t mind. I had a break in between classes and thought I’d call. How did you sleep?”

“Like a rock! Didn’t even manage to put out the light before I knocked out! How did you sleep?”

“Oh fine! Took half a sleeping pill and was off to dream land before I knew it.” Therese furrowed her brow. _Sleeping pill?_ But before she could ask Carol spoke. “Darling, I don’t have much time. I wanted to ask if you were going to rehearsal tonight?”

“No, Tina doesn’t need me tonight. Do you have dance rehearsal?”

“No, not until tomorrow. Would you like to go out with me tonight?”

“I’d love to! Did you have somewhere in mind?”

“Yes. But I want it to be a surprise!”

After hanging up with Carol, Therese checked her other messages. Of course there was one from Danny, wanting all the dirty details of her evening. Therese rolled her eyes and answered, telling him she’d fill him in the next time they saw each other in person.

 

Therese pulled up to Carol’s apartment at 5:30 that evening. She grabbed her purse and phone, leaving the bag she had packed in the back. She was hoping Carol would ask her to stay over but didn’t want to seem too presumptuous. She walked up the now familiar steps and knocked on the door. She could hear Carol call faintly from inside to come in.

When Therese opened the door, she could hear her more clearly. “I’m almost ready, make yourself comfortable!”

Therese called back. “Alright, take your time!” She plopped down on the sofa and picked up a magazine and flipped through it a while. Suddenly someone cleared their throat from behind her. Therese turned and gasped. Carol was wearing a black high necked sleeveless dress, cinched at her stomach where a skin colored piece circled her waist making her look impossibly trim. The dress stopped just above her knees. Her hair was swept over to one side revealing her neck. “You look gorgeous.”

Carol smiled. “You’re sweet.” Carol’s phone beeped, she checked it and grabbed her purse and keys. ‘Ready to go?”

“Ready, but where are we going?”

“You’ll see! Come on.”

Carol gently pressed her hand into the small of Therese’s back as they walked down to the parking lot. Therese felt her stomach do a small flip at the contact. At the bottom of the stairs, before walking out where they were in view of everyone, Carol turned Therese around to face her.

“We never seem to remember to give each other a proper hello.” Before Therese could respond Carol pulled her into an embrace.

It was over as quickly as it had started but left Therese a little light headed. _I hope it always feels like this to kiss Carol._ The blonde laughed deeply at her and grabbed her hand.

“Come on, our ride’s here!”

“Our ride? Neither one of us is driving?”

“Nope. I want tonight to be enjoyable for the both of us!”

“Well now what does that mean?”

“You’ll see!”

“Why do I have a feeling that won’t be the last time I here THAT phrase?” The two broke out in laughter as they climbed into their Uber.

As they got closer in towards town Carol turned to Therese. “Do you like art? Or I guess more specifically photography?”

“Sure! I have an aunt who does a lot of photography, sends her photos in to competitions and local exhibits, I love looking at her stuff.”

“Oh good.” Carol smiled.

“Why? Is that where we’re going tonight?” The car pulled over.

“It’s the first stop tonight, and we’re here!” The women climbed out of the car and found themselves standing in front of a charming red brick building.

“Carol, aren’t we just around the corner from the theatre?”

“Yep! This place holds all kinds of exhibits from time to time; paintings, sculptures, things like that. I’m always popping in before rehearsals and such. Tonight it’s photography. I think the exhibit’s called ‘Suspended Love’ or something of that nature.”

The pair walked in, Carol brushing her hand purposefully across Therese’s whose skin felt like fire at the contact. When Therese looked around, she momentarily forgot she was with Carol. The exhibit was fascinating. There were all kind of photos in black and white from elderly couples in an embrace to what looked like photographs of couples from the 40’s, maybe even the 30s, together. Therese moved from photo to photo, taking in each with enthusiasm and moving on to the next. One of her favorites was of two different sets of aged and wrinkled hands clasped together. There was something beautiful and tender about the photo. It gave Therese a sense of hope that love really could last forever.

As she moved through the exhibit, Carol was always a few steps away. They would make eye contact and Carol would either grin or wink at her, making Therese blush. At one point, Carol passed close enough behind her to brush her backside without anyone noticing. Therese jumped and felt a jolt of pleasure run straight down to her core. Carol only smirked and walked on as if nothing had happened.

Therese looked for the bathroom and went in. It had two stalls, but both were empty. She looked at herself in the mirror. Thanks to her makeup once more, her face looked normal. But there was a blush across her chest that gave her away. She grabbed a few paper towels, wetting them gently and patted her face and chest to cool herself down. Just as she was throwing them away, the door opened and in waltzed Carol. Before either one said a word, Carol checked the two stalls and after seeing they were empty, turned back and locked the bathroom door.

Therese felt her heart jumped into her throat. “What are you doing?”

“You looked like you need a moment to cool off in private so I’m making sure no one will walk in.” Carol’s eyes were dark and Therese started breathing heavily. This woman made her excited and nervous at the same time, making her feel dizzy. She felt her knees start to buckle but instantly Carol was there with her arms at her waist, coaxing her up onto the counter. “Are you alright, dear?” Carol feigned innocence. But Therese couldn’t find her voice. Her eyes wavered to Carol’s lips.

Carol smiled. ”Let me help make you more comfortable.” She slowly started pulling Therese’s green blouse free from her skirt. Once it was untucked, she snaked her hands inside and ran them up Therese’s back make making her moan. Carol pressed a light kiss to her throat. “Quiet, darling. You wouldn’t want anyone trying to come in here to check on you. That would ruin your privately little moment, wouldn’t it?” Carol was teasing her and Therese couldn’t take it. She grabbed at Carol’s neck and pulled her forward in a rough kiss. Instantly her tongue was seeking entrance to Carol’s mouth. As their tongues met, Carol reached down and hiked up Therese’s black skirt so she could move between her legs, prompting Therese to wrap them around Carol’s waist.

The pair froze when they heard a knock at the door. Therese looked to Carol. Her face appeared calm and she simple called out “Occupied!” They waited a few moments and when they were sure whoever it was had gone, Carol guided Therese back down on her own feet. Therese couldn’t help but feel a sense of embarrassment at how strong she had come on and in such a public place. She kept her head down as she pulled her skirt back into place and tucked in her blouse. Carol noticed Therese’s sudden change in demeanor and softly put her hand under the brunette’s chin, lifting it so she would look her in the eyes.

“Sweetheart, I want you more than you’ll ever know. Don’t ever be afraid to or regret being bold with me.” She smiled when she saw a spark return to Therese’s eyes. She kissed her on the forehead. “I’m going to go back out now. I still have quite the night planned for you.”

And with that, Carol turned for the door. After unlocking it, she threw her signature wink back to Therese and was gone. Therese took a moment to wash her hands and then headed back out to the exhibit herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is curious, the outfit Carol is wearing in this chapter is the same dress Blanchett wore at the New York premiere of 'Carol' except I changed the color from the mustard yellow to black. (Only because in practice the dress and the color are stunning but when you read "mustard yellow" or what not it just doesn't sound quite so beautiful. :P)


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being away. I just read so many great Carol fanfics here and I think how can I measure up to that kind of writing! :O  
> Enjoy this next chapter!

Therese didn’t see where Carol had wandered off to, so she moved on to one of the last photos in the far corner of the exhibit. When she saw it she frozen, her mouth slightly parted as she stared at the photo in amazement. She felt two hands at her waist but even that didn’t bring her back to the real world.

Carol pressed a light kiss to her ear. “Darling?” Therese only hummed in response, still trained on the picture. “Do you like this one?” Therese nodded her head slowly.

It was a photo of two woman kissing passionately on the ground in a field. To the side were their bicycles, one of top of the other as though they were forgotten about and dropped carelessly. The photo look to be dates back to the 1940s. It looked so natural and peaceful to Therese. She knew during that time period, it was extremely dangerous for anyone to be gay and even against the law to perform sexual acts with someone of the same sex. But these two women looked so carefree. There was nothing lewd or sexual about them. They even looked downright innocent in their embrace. It gave a sense of peace to Therese and calmed what little nerves she still had about being with a woman or calling herself a lesbian. The photo made her want to embrace it and shout it out to the world.

Carol finally broke Therese’s train of thought. “We need to get going soon. I have one more surprise for you and we don’t want to be late.”

Therese turned her head and gave Carol a quick kiss on the cheek. “Alright.”

 

The car pulled up in front of the Muse Paint Bar. Therese looked to Carol questioningly.

“I thought it would fun. A little wine while we paint? Everyone says it’s fun I thought it be nice for us to do together.” Carol started to babble slightly. “I don’t even know if you like painting but you seem like such an artistic person so I took a chance and…” Therese silenced her by grabbing her hand and squeezing it lightly.

“It sounds wonderful. Thank you, Carol.”  Carol let out a breath and smiled, leading Therese inside.

The studio had brick walls and tables set up with chairs. A few easels where set on each table. The 7:00 p.m. class wasn’t very full so Carol and Therese got a table to themselves to the side of the studio. A woman with long slightly curly black hair walked in and greeted everyone.

“Hello all! Welcome to the Muse Paint Bar, my name is Alexandra but you can call me Alex. I hope everyone found a drink to keep them cozy! Tonight’s painting is called ‘Hummingbird in Paradise’.”

Therese let out a tiny gasp only heard by Carol. “What is it?”

Therese kept her voice low as the instructor continued on. “I love hummingbirds! I’ve actually got a tattoo of one of my ribs in honor of my grandmother.”

“Oh that’s very sweet. I guess we picked a good night to come then didn’t we?”

“Mhmm! Oh thank you so much for this, Carol.” Therese grabbed her hand a pressed a kiss to the back, making Carol smile.

 

As the night progressed on, Carol and Therese enjoyed their drinks along with the painting, laughing at each others efforts and threatening to paint each other. They seemed to catch the instructor’s attention as she began coming around to their station a little more often than the others’.

“Carol, try using smaller brush strokes. It’ll give you more control so your picture doesn’t look so shaky.” Alex walked behind Therese and put her hands on her shoulders. "That looks wonderful, Therese, you're a natural!"

Carol's knuckles went white as her grip on the paint brush tightened. She reached for her glass of wine with her free hand and took another gulp. Alex was obviously flirting. Carol knew she shouldn’t worry or be so protective but she couldn’t help it. Maybe all of her years with Harge made her pick up some his territorial ways but she wasn’t remotely willing to let another woman attempt to get between her and Therese.

When Alex’s hold on Therese’s shoulders lingered, Carol clenched her teeth. “Darling,” Carol drew out seductively catching Therese’s attention as well as Alex’s, “we both had more wine than I anticipated, you might as well stay over with me tonight.” Carol looked pointedly at Alex who quickly withdrew her hands and scurried off to help another table. Therese didn’t seem to notice anything amiss but was a little startled by Carol’s question.

“Stay over? Are you sure? I mean I’d love to but,” she swallowed “don’t you have class tomorrow?”

“Oh don’t worry about that. I’d much rather you be safe. Besides it’s not like you haven’t stayed over before.”

Therese’s face tinged pink. “Well, alright. Why not?” She grinned and turned back to finish her photo.

The rest of the evening, it was obvious Alex was still circling their table much more than the others. She continuously critiqued Carol’s painting but praised Therese’s without fail. Not to say Therese wasn’t the better painter but it was painfully aware to Carol that Alex was trying to flirt with Therese right in front of her. Carol began to brood.

 

The ride back to Carol's apartment was uncomfortably quiet. Therese began to worry that she had done something wrong and upset Carol in some way. She slid her hand over Carol's in hopes that she would look at her but the older woman continued to stare out the window. The car finally pulled up to Carol's apartment and the women exited. Therese thanked the driver as carol walked on leaving her to follow obediently behind. Therese felt like a child in trouble.

Carol grabbed the keys out of her purse and shoved them in the lock. She turned the key and swung the door open. Therese followed in quickly behind her.

At the sound of the door shutting, Therese felt hands on her shoulders.

Carol turned her and backed her into the door and used her own body to pin Therese roughly in place. Their faces were close enough that their hot breaths mingled. Therese flinched when she heard Carol click the bolt into place and suddenly felt overheated.

"Therese, are you mine?" Carol's voice was deep and sultry. Therese felt a familiar jolt of pleasure hit rendering her speechless. Carol rolled her hips once into Therese's making her shut her eyes in pleasure.

"Yes." She answered breathlessly.

"You’re mine and only mine." Carol's eyes moved down to her lips murmuring almost to herself. "All mine." She grabbed Therese's head and pulled her close, kissing her deeply as she tangled her fingers into the brunette’s hair. Therese moaned and pushed back, meeting Carol's hips with her own.

Carol yanked Therese’s blouse out of her skirt and impatiently slipped her hands under, ghosting past her stomach to squeeze her breasts through her bra. Therese felt an almost painful shiver run down her spine and she clawed at Carol’s hips trying to pull her closer. Carol grabbed the hem of Therese’s blouse and pulled it over her head. Therese sucked in at the cool air that hit her back. She sought Carol’s lips once more, thrusting her tongue inside.

Carol moaned and pressed Therese back into the door pushing a leg between Therese's and moved her lips to any exposed bit of neck and chest she could get to. Therese breath was coming in pants now. "Bed. Please. Now." Carol stopped her ministrations and looked into brown eyes. She smirked and grabbed Therese's hand to lead the way. At the loss of Carol's thigh against her center, Therese let out a small whimper. Without looking back Carol responded. "Patience, my love." Therese's heart soared.

Just as they got to the bedroom, someone began to beat on the front door. Therese gripped Carol’s arm and stood behind her slightly. Carol went rigid.

“Shit.”

Therese’s voice was more than a whisper. “Who is that?”

“I have an idea but I pray I’m wrong.”

“Maybe if we’re quiet they’ll go away?”

Just then a man’s voice came through. “Carol? I know you’re in there, your car is parked out front.” Carol and Therese stayed silent. The man continued banging and shouted “Carol, open up!”

“Fuck. He’s not going to go away.” Carol turned to look at Therese. “Darling, grab your shirt and go to the bathroom to put it on.”

Therese suddenly felt exposed and did as she was asked while Carol fixed her hair and wiped her smudged lipstick in the bathroom mirror. As they passed one another, Carol gently grabbed Therese’s upper arm. “Come back out here when you’re fixed up. I’m not going to hide you.” She kissed her temple and continued towards the front door. As soon as Therese was in the bathroom out of view, Carol unlocked and wrenched the door open.

“What in the hell do you want, Harge?” Harge ignored her and pushed past, leaving Carol looking at an empty hall outside. “Oh sure, come right it!” She rolled her eyes.

“Why didn’t you answer my calls?”

“Maybe because I don’t have to, Harge. Besides, my phone was on silent. What’s so urgent you have to talk to me?”

“What, I can’t come see my wife whenever I want?”

“How many times to I have to tell you to stop calling me that? Our divorce is practically final, you have no right to do whatever you please when it comes to me.”

“You are still legally my wife and I exercise my right as I see fit!” Harge moved forward and grabbed Carol’s wrist. Before she could object a voice came from across the room.

“Let go of her!”

Carol and Harge turned to find Therese. “I said let her go.”

Harge snorted and turned back to Carol, releasing her. “And who’s this? Your latest play thing?”

“Harge!”

“No it’s okay, Carol. I’ve dealt with children who had better insults before.”

“Why you little bi-.“ Carol stepped between Harge and Therese.

“Harge, if you want talk to me, you better think twice about the next words out of your mouth.” He took a step back and remained quiet. “I’ll talk to you in the kitchen. Therese, honey make yourself comfortable, this won’t take long.” Harge pouted and walked out of the living room.

“Carol, I don’t trust him alone with you.”

“It’s alright. He’ll behave himself. I’m sorry about this. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” Therese almost expected a kiss from Carol but instead received a hesitant pat on the arm.

Therese went to sit on the couch. She had left her purse on the coffee table when she first got to Carol’s earlier in the evening. She picked it up and pulled out her cell phone. She could only hear muffled voices coming from the kitchen. She decided to text Danny.

**Are you free tomorrow before rehearsal?**

Therese muted her cell phone.

**Ooooooo am I going to finally hear all about what’s going on between you and miss blondie?**

**Haha sure. But right now things are not exactly great. Her husband showed up to her apartment.**

**Husband?!**

**Ex! Well I mean sort of. They’re in month 8 of divorce proceedings. He’s making it super hard on her.**

Therese could hear the voice in the kitchen growing louder.

**Shit, they’re really fighting now. I gotta go.**

**Be safe, Therese! Call me as soon as you can, we’ll talk and make coffee plans!**

Therese put her phone back in her purse and walked closer to the kitchen. She felt bad eavesdropping but she was worried about Carol. She didn’t trust Harge not to hurt her. She could make out the conversation now.

“Oh stop acting like the innocent betrayed husband! I know all about your women. You only want to keep me around for your perfect little ‘corporate image’. But you’re no better than I am!”

“Maybe so but any news of my affairs wouldn’t make my bosses bat an eyelash. However I’m sure your principle, school board and superintendent would just love to hear about your indiscretions.”

“Go ahead, Harge! You threatened me once and it worked but don’t think it will again! You have no power and control over me, I don’t care what you do.”

“You’d really put your job in jeopardy for that child out there, Carol? You’ve really lost it!”

Therese began to panic a little. _Can he really do that? Oh Carol, please don’t. I’m not worth it!_

“She’s not a child! And my own happiness means more than anything to me especially after all the years I spent a miserable slave to you!”

The kitchen went quiet. Therese held her breath.

Finally Harge spoke. But his voice was eerily calm. “Congratulations, Carol. You’ll get your happiness. You stay with this girl and you’ll be happy. You’ll be happy, and jobless, and friendless. I give you one last chance, Carol. Are you really ready to sacrifice it all for that girl out there?”

Carol was ready to answer with conviction but something stopped her; the sound of a door slamming from the other room. Carol raced to the living room but found it empty. “Therese?” She ran to the bathroom and bedroom but they were empty as well. “Oh God.”

She ran out the front door, not bothering to close it behind her. As she ascended the stairs she could hear a car starting. “Therese!” She finally made it to the bottom and ran out toward the parking lot. But it was too late. Therese was already pulling out onto the street and down the road. She stood there alone in the dark shaking with a mixture of grief and anger. “God fucking dammit!”

She heard a laugh from behind her. “Looks like your little friend chose for you. I’ll be seeing you, Carol.”

Without looking at Harge, Carol turned and made her way back up the stairs and inside, tears silently streaming down her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did tag this story with 'angst', right? ;)  
> Let me know what you thought!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone had a great holiday and will have a wonderful New Year!   
> Thank you so much for all the lovely, wonderful comments! You keep the spark alive for me to keep writing!  
> Enjoy!

Therese reached down and pressed Danny’s number and put the call on speakerphone.

“Hey babe! Everything all good?”

Therese choked back a sob. “No. Everything’s over!”

“Woah woah woah! What happened?”

“Are you home? Can I come over? I don’t want to be alone right now.”

“Oh of course, doll. How far away are you?”

Therese sniffled. “I just left. I’m still 30 minutes out.”

“Okay, come straight to my place, I’ll get some drinks going. You can stay over. Be safe getting here.”

“Thank you, Danny.” Her voice broke and she began to cry again.

“Be strong. I love you.” Therese couldn’t string words together to answer him so she hung up and tried to pull herself together as she sped down the highway. Before she got very far, however, her phone buzzed, lighting up the dark car. Therese picked it up and looked at the screen.

Carol was calling. Therese silenced it and threw it on the passenger’s seat. She turned up her radio in an effort to drown out the temptation to answer.

 

Carol threw her phone down onto her bed. “Damn it!” She sat down forcefully and covered her face with her hands. She had tried calling Therese three times no to avail. She was worried out of her mind. Therese had taken off, no doubt upset. What if something happened to her and she didn’t make it home? Carol couldn’t lose her. Not after everything. She got her second chance and she was ready to fight for it no matter the cost.

She grabbed her phone and tried Therese once more. When it went to voicemail this time, she left a message.

“Therese please answer the phone! Call me, text me, anything at least to let me know you’re okay, I’m worried. Please!” Carol hung up. She couldn’t sit around in hopes that Therese would actually answer. She grabbed her keys are purse and ran out of her apartment.

 

The door flew open, revealing Danny with open arms. Therese stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, tucked her head under his chin and started to cry all over again. Danny gave the door a little push to close it and embraced Therese, squeezing her tightly. Therese was grateful. After all their years of friendship, Danny knew exactly what she needed in her times of grief; someone to hold on tightly to and to hold her tightly back.

When she started to calm down, Danny pulled back. “How about a drink?” She nodded and wiped her eyes. Danny disappeared into the kitchen so she walked into the living room and flopped down on the couch and shut her eyes in exhaustion.

“If it’s any consolation, you look gorgeous.” Therese opened her eyes to find Danny standing over her with a drink held out for her.

She smiled sadly and accepted the drink. “Thanks. Have you got any clothes I can change into?”

“Sure, love.” Therese shut her eyes in anguish, remembering how Carol had referred to her as ‘my love’. Danny noticed. “You okay?”

“I will be. I just need to get comfortable and get some alcohol in me.”

“Come on in here then. They may be too big but you can borrow some sweats and a shirt.” Therese didn’t mind. She needed the feeling of being completely enveloped right now.

 

Carol pulled up to Therese’s apartment. Before getting out she glanced around at the other cars in the parking lot. She didn’t see her car, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. Carol got out and made her way to Therese’s door, her heart beating furiously in her chest. She took a deep breath and knocked three times but there was no answer. She knocked again, this time a little harder bordering on flat out pounding on the door.

She finally heard movement on the other side and a voice. “Alright, alright, I’m coming!” Carol held her breath in hopes that it was Therese. The door swung open to reveal a young red head in glasses wearing a robe. She looked Carol up and down, slightly stunned. Carol suddenly felt awkward, forgetting she had never changed out of her dress and heels.

“I’m sorry. I’m looking for Therese Belivet. Is she home?”

“No, she hasn’t come home yet. She actually told me earlier today when she left that she may not be back ‘till tomorrow.” Carol smirked. _So she did anticipate staying the night._ But her delight didn’t last long. _But where in the hell could she be? I didn’t pass any accidents on the way here._ She thanked the girl, apologized for disturbing her and walked back out to her car. She tried calling Therese one last time. When she got her voicemail yet again, she hung up and sent her a text.

**Darling, I’m so sorry about what happened tonight. I need to talk to you as soon as possible.**

Carol had no confidence in getting ahold of Therese. She sent one more message.

**At least tell me you’re okay. I’m worried you didn’t make it somewhere safely, please.**

Carol felt tears start to gather in her eyes. She was so afraid of history repeating itself. She already lost Missy. She didn’t think she could survive it if something happened to Therese, too.

Therese’s phone vibrated on the coffee table. She had just finished catching Danny up and was halfway through her second drink. But it wasn’t enough to give her the courage to answer.

She couldn’t let Carol risk everything for her. Even if Carol said she would’ve risked it for Missy and was ready to for Therese, she couldn’t let her. She wasn’t enough for Carol. She didn’t know where her life was going. She only had one year left of college and she was determined to get away as soon as she graduated. She couldn’t do that to Carol, let her give everything up and then abandon her.

But Therese wasn’t so sure she wanted to leave anymore. Carol was more than she ever dared to even dream of. But they had known each other such a short time. What if it was all just pure lust? They didn’t really know a whole lot about each other.

_This isn’t a fairytale, it’s fucking reality!_

The phone quit ringing. But soon after, it lit up again.

“Danny, I can’t look at it. Will you?”

Danny reached forward and checked her lock screen. “You have five missed calls, a voicemail, and a text message. Woops make that two messages.”

“All from her?”

“Yep. Oh wait a minute. You’re roommate, Lynn, just texted, too.”

“Read what Lynn sent first.” Therese gave Danny her password.

“Uh oh.”

“What?” Therese sat up quickly, almost spilling her drink.

“Lynn said a tall blonde in a fancy dress showed up at the apartment looking for you.”

“Fuck! What do the texts from Carol say?”

“She apologizes for what happened and needs to talk to you. She also wants to know if you got somewhere safe. Do you want to listen to the voicemail?”

“No. No, no I can’t hear her voice right now. I can’t do it, Danny. I can’t let her ruin her life for me.”

“You don’t know that’s what will happen, Therese! It’s 2016! Most people don’t actually give a shit who’s gay or straight!”

“But I can’t let her take that risk! I’m nothing, Danny! Carol could have anyone…What if she does lose everything and then one day wakes up to realize I wasn’t worth it? That she doesn’t want me anymore and that I’m not what she thought I was?” Therese by now had abandoned her drink and was pacing the room.

“Therese, you’re not giving her enough credit.”

“Danny please. Just help me. I can’t let Carol put her job with the school and everything at the theatre in jeopardy. I can’t and I won’t. If I hear her voice I’ll break. And if I talk to her now, I’m afraid I’ll let her talk me into staying.” Therese stopped pacing. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “I love her too much.”

Danny was quiet for a while. “Alright. Whatever you need, I got you boo.”

Therese sat back down tucking her feet under her and picked up her drink again. “Thank you.”

Danny walked into the other room out of earshot to listen to Carol’s voicemail. It felt wrong, listening to something so personal. He could tell Carol was deeply distressed and felt for her. He had known his fair share of heartache. He wished Therese would listen to it, there was no doubt Carol was in love with her just from the emotion in her voice in that short message. But Therese was right. If she did hear this, she’d no doubt go running back to Carol in no time.

He walked back into to the living room only to find it empty. “Therese?”

A voice came from the kitchen. “I’m in here! Just getting another drink.”

Danny sat and waited for her to come back in.  “The voicemail was basically another plea to let her know you got home safe. After what you told me about Missy, you really need to let me tell her you’re okay. It’s completely unfair and honestly down right cruel to let her worry or think that you might’ve had a accident or something.”

“No, you’re right. But I can’t do it myself. I don’t want to have that phone in my hands at any moment tonight. Will you text her something?”

“Of course. Do you want to tell me what to write?”

“No. Just whatever you think. Don’t tell me what you’re saying. And honestly for the rest of the night, unless it’s life or death, don’t tell me what she says.”

Danny nodded and unlocked Therese’s phone again.

 

Carol was busy trying to steady her breathing as she sat in her car waiting for an answer. She felt weird sitting outside the girl’s apartment but she was too anxious to drive home. She needed to know that Therese was okay.

_God, I could just strangle Harge. He’ll forever be out to ruin my happiness, won’t he? But I guess I never gave him much happiness, did i? I could’ve done better. We both could’ve. Christ how did two grown-ass adults let our lives get this messy._

Carol let her forehead fall onto her steering wheel. Suddenly her phone went off. Her head shot back up and she fumbled around looking for it, praying it was a text from Therese.

**Therese is fine. She made it somewhere safe and is with someone who will take care of her.**

Carol started to cry softly in relief and clutched the phone to her chest. Her darling was safe. She had to admit though, the ending of the message stung a little. But she was grateful all the same that she finally knew Therese was okay. She sent back a short response.

**Thank you, so much.**

Carol felt like an enormous weight had been lifted off her chest. She turned the key in the ignition and buckled her seatbelt ready to go back home. She knew she had a lot to work ahead of her to get Therese back, but she would take it one day at a time, one step at a time. For now, she needed rest and so did Therese. She wouldn’t bother her the rest of the evening.

 

Danny turned Therese’s phone off, satisfied. She was starting to nod off on the couch beside him. He went to clear his bed off so there’d be room for the both of them. He walked back out and lifted her off the couch trying to disturbed her as little as possible. He laid her down and moved into the bathroom to change into something more comfortable to sleep in.

When he finally slid into bed, Therese turned over, awake and grabbed his hand. “Thank you for everything, Danny. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Danny kissed her forehead. “You’re a sister to me, boo. I’ll always be here for you.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for not posting in a bit! I hope everyone had a wonderful New Years!

The next day Carol walked into the theatre half hoping she’d see Therese even though she wasn’t called for rehearsal. But she could always hope, right? During the three hour rehearsal that night, she couldn’t help notice that Danny was acting quieter than usual. Not that he was ever loud or obnoxious, he just wasn’t as cheerful and energetic as usual.

She wanted to approach him but felt unsure of herself. Maybe his mood had something to do with Therese. _I wouldn’t be surprised if it was him who texted me last night._ Maybe then he would be the key to getting through to Therese. She had tried to text and call her a couple of times throughout the day, not enough to be considered “blowing up her phone” but enough that her point would be made; she wasn’t going to give up on Therese and it was crucial that she spoke to her face to face soon.

At the end of rehearsal as everyone packed up, she approached Danny.

“Hey.” He looked up. “I…Nice work today.”

Danny looked slightly confused. “Oh, thank you.”

Carol shifted her weight. “You were quiet though. Seemed a little off, is everything alright?”

Danny stared at her in silence for a moment too long, making Carol nervous. _This was a bad idea._ But finally Danny spoke.

“I’m alright. Thank you for asking.” Carol nodded, not missing the emphasis he put on “I’m”. She turned to go. “Are you okay?” Carol stopped and looked back at the young man. She was startled to meet eyes full of compassion and for a moment she wasn’t sure what to say.

“I will be.”

 

Therese had left Danny’s around noon only to crawl back into bed when she got home. She laid in bed and cried all over again. But her tears of grief soon changed to anger and frustration. Not at Carol, or even Harge, but at herself. She was angry at herself for falling for someone so quickly, for someone she never should have. She was angry that she was so upset over someone she barely knew. She was frustrated that she had to feel so much. She wanted to beat her head against the wall until she forgot Carol and everything that had happened between them. But she couldn’t move from the fetal position she had curled up into.

Eventually she fell back asleep.

 

Everything seems brighter and better in the morning. Therese hated the phrase but today she had to admit it was true. The sun was shining, she was on her way to work and she was actually looking forward to it, to being productive again. Plus she loved working with the morning crew.

 

Carol however was a nervous wreck this morning. It wasn’t going to be any usual Thursday and that wasn’t due to the fact that it was the last day of the school year for the students. She made a call to Maureen telling her she wouldn’t make it to rehearsal tonight and that she was going to have Ann take over in watching and cleaning up a few dance numbers and then proceeded to contact Ann to fill her in on the change.

 

When Ann told everyone in the car on the way to rehearsal that she would be in charge of the dancers for the day Therese perked up and looked to Danny who shrugged his shoulders. The day was really turning out better than she could’ve hoped for.

By the time the evening was over, Therese had gained a pep back in her step.

“Hey guys! Why don’t we go find a bar and have some drinks before we go home?”

Danny looked at Therese suspiciously. “On a Thursday night?”

“Oh come on, why not?”

The group decided against the bar next to the theatre, they had all been before and wanted to find someplace new. They finally decided on a place called The Blind Rhino where they could get food and drinks. The group piled out of the car and Therese linked arms with Marcia.

Marcia smiled. “How’ve you been? We haven’t had a girl’s night and just talked in a long time!”

Therese surprised herself and laughed. “Oh Marcia, I have SO much to tell you! You free Saturday night?”

“I am now! Your place or mine?”

Therese thought for a moment. After finding out Carol had shown up to her apartment two nights ago she was continuously nervous about her showing up again. “Yours.”

Therese suddenly bumped into the back of Danny who stood in the doorway of the bar. “What the hell? Dude what are you just standing there for?” She noticed Danny had ahold of Ann’s arm as well, successfully keeping them all from being able to enter.

Danny turned and started herding them all back out onto the sidewalk. “We need to leave.”

All the woman began to protest. But he insisted and continued pushing without explaination. Therese finally raised her voice.

“Danny! What is going on? Why can’t we go in?”

“Therese, please. Let’s just go and find a bar closer to home, okay?”

Therese narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Not until you tell us what’s going on.”

Danny opened his mouth for a moment then closed it again, unable to say anything. But his face told Therese all she needed to know.

Before he could stop her, she flung open the door to the bar and walked in scanning the room frantically.

And there she was.

Carol was sitting at the bar with another blonde. A woman not quite equaled in Carol’s beauty but definitely a looker. Therese watched in horror as the woman flipped her long hair to one side and leaned forward to whisper something in Carol’s ear as she subtly put her hand on Carol’s bare knee. Carol threw her head back in laughter, and raised her drink to the woman. As Carol drained the last bit of her drink, the mystery woman slid her hand up Carol’s thigh, the tips of her fingers disappearing underneath the skirt she was wearing.

Therese felt bile creep up her throat. She had seen enough. She turned and stormed out of the bar, nearly colliding with a couple coming in.

Danny, Marcia, and Ann were still outside, arguing over what was going on but Therese ignored them and charged towards the car, forcing the others to run after her when they realized she had gone by. Danny got in the driver’s seat and started the engine. Ann sat in the passenger’s seat and Marcia sat with Therese in the back. Danny peeled out of the parking lot. There was a few minutes of strained silence. Finally Marcia turned to Therese.

“Are you okay?” She gently put her hand on Therese’s arm in comfort. But Therese jerked her arm away.

“I don’t want to talk about it. I’m fine.” Her voice cracked on the last word.

Danny quickly jumped in. “Let’s just go home. We had a long rehearsal and everyone has to work in the morning. We’ll all get together this weekend and just chill.”

Therese was grateful to Danny for turning the conversation. She didn’t mean to be rude to Marcia but she was livid.

She had been right in her suspicions. She wasn’t good enough for Carol. She could have anyone and apparently does. Therese felt cheap and used. To be so easily replaced. Sure she wanted Carol to move on but two days? She couldn’t help but feel hurt. It had all been nothing to Carol, just a lot of talk to get in her pants.

 

Carol felt Greta’s warm hand making its way up her thigh as she threw back the last of her martini. Usually she welcomed the attention from a woman but this time it felt wrong. She grabbed the blonde woman’s hand before it could creep any higher. Suddenly she heard a bit of commotion and looked towards the front of the bar. A brunette woman had pushed her way past a couple who looked slightly bewildered at the retreating figure. Carol had an odd feeling she knew who it was. Her heart began to race. She let go of Greta’s hand and stood.

“Well it was nice meeting you, Greta. Maybe I’ll see you around sometime.” She dug some cash out of her purse and set it under her drink for the bartender.

Carol pushed through the crowd as fast as she could without being rude. She finally made it outside and looked around but there was no one. Maybe she had imagined it.

 

Friday and Saturday had passed without too much excitement. Therese had blocked Carol’s number and come clean to Marcia and Ann about what had happened, though sparing the more intimate details. She even began to come to terms with her own feelings. She really had no right to be upset with Carol. Therese had left, ignored her calls, shut her out to the best of her ability. Why shouldn’t Carol move on? But it still hurt Therese deep down that she had moved on so quickly. Maybe Carol was right, she was just too young, hurt to easily, felt things too deeply. Therese would just have to deal with what had happened and move on.

Sunday morning however, while still at Danny’s, she started stressing about rehearsal that evening. The thought of seeing Carol proved too much and she consequently had a panic attack.

After she had calmed down, Danny begged her to call Maureen and explain that she was unwell and couldn’t come in for rehearsal. But Therese refused. She had already let her emotions overtake her professionalism with the production enough, she wasn’t going to let it continue.

 

Therese showed up early, having taken her own car that day and was one of the first to arrive at the theatre. Maureen was going to be working with the leads again but this time upstairs where the dancers usually rehearsed. Carol would get the stage to rehearse on. Without realizing this, Therese left her bag in the theatre, grabbing only her script and pencil and went upstairs to chat with Maureen while they waited for the others to join them.

During a break, Therese walked down to grab water out of her bag. She could hear Carol onstage talking to the dancers and tried to ignore it, keeping her back to them but her hearing betrayed her. Suddenly Carol laughed.

"Thank you, dahling!" Therese almost choked on her water. Carol had jokingly said it but in one of those classic old Hollywood seductive voices that turned Therese on. She couldn't help it and turned to the stage. Carol was looking at her.

_Damn her. She knew I'd look, she did it purpose._ She twisted the cap back on the bottle and grabbed her bag to take upstairs with her, fuming.  

Maureen let the leads go 40 minutes early to Therese’s relief. This would give her a chance to slip away undetected by Carol.

 

Carol looked at her watch. It was a quarter till 10.

“Alright everything that’s it for tonight. Great work!” She turned around a notice Maureen sitting in the audience. _Shit, when did she finish with her group?_ She looked around hoping to see Therese sitting somewhere nearby to wait for Danny, Marcia, and Ann. They always seemed ride together. But there was no sign of her. _Damn it._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next evening, Carol waited outside the front of the theatre mindlessly texting Abby. Maureen was doing a run of the first act of the show so Carol wasn’t needed there. She had decided tonight was the night she was finally going to get Therese to talk to her. Carol felt bad for ambushing her but this had to happen. She felt she had one chance to get Therese back. She had gone over a thousand times what she would say to her.

Carol had been standing outside the theatre for nearly an hour, not wanting to risk Maureen releasing Therese early again. She glanced at the time. _Of course, the one night I count on Maureen to let rehearsal out early is the one night she actually makes them stay till time._

It had been nearly a week since she had talked to Therese, or touched her, or kissed her for that matter. To say she missed her terribly would be an understatement. She had hardly eaten all week, reverting mostly to alcohol to fill her belly and numb the pain. She had never been much of a heavy drinker before but Therese had turned her whole world upside down.

She finally heard commotion inside and looked through the glass window to see the lobby doors swing open and the cast exiting. She slid back into the shadows and watched for Therese, her heart pounding.

But she didn't come out.

She looked back across the street. _Her car's here. Maybe she stayed back in the theatre to talk to Maureen._

She didn't want to confront her inside though. She didn't want to make a scene or make her feel trapped. She wanted the entirety of this conversation to be private and calm. But it had to be now. She didn't want to be without Therese any longer.

She slipped inside the lobby and walked to the doors, peering into the theatre. She could see Maureen packing up but there was no one else around. Suddenly she heard the patter of feet coming from somewhere.

Therese came bounding down the backstage stairs panting.

"Didn't you forget something, dear?"

Therese laughed. God how she missed that laugh. "Yes, my phone! Have a good night, Maureen!"

"You too, Therese."

Carol watched the girl disappear backstage again. _The side stage door. Of course! That's how the little minx left yesterday without me seeing!_

Carol raced out the front and down the block to head her off. She rounded the corner searching. But the sidewalk and road was empty. _What the hell?_

Carol heard laughter spill out the open doors of the bar across the street from the stage door. Carol walked over and stood just inside, glancing over the sparse crowd. And there she was, talking to the bartender. A female bartender whom Carol had to admit was quite attractive. She was saying something to Therese before winking at her. Carol felt her insides beginning to boil.

Before she knew it, her feet were propelling her forward.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For whatever reason I was so frustrated with this chapter, I felt all over the place! So let me know what you think!


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure what to say except (though I don't tend to answer them) I'm EXTREMELY grateful for any and all comments and criticism! I love hearing anything y'all love or not or questions you have!   
> Enjoy!

Before she knew it, Carol’s feet were propelling her forward till she was suddenly standing behind Therese's bar stool. Danny and Marcia noticed her first and grew quiet. Therese looked over her shoulder, confused. When she saw Carol she jumped.

Therese felt like someone had knocked the air out of her. She stared, speechless.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Carol looked to the others. "Or interrupt. But I was wondering if I could talk to Therese for a moment."

Therese looked to Danny, panicked, trying to convey to him not to leave her alone with Carol. But he only patted her knee and turned to blonde.

"Of course. I'm sure Marcia and I can find something to chat about for a bit."

"Thank you, Danny." Carol stepped back and motioned towards the door.

Therese threw Danny a murderous look as she slowly slipped out of her chair and led the way outside. She made it out to the sidewalk and stopped but didn't turn to look at Carol. She knew she had to keep a clear, and mostly importantly, calm head. She took a deep, shaky breath, gripping the chain railing that ran along the sidewalk. The cool metal calmed her in the midst of the summer heat and her hammering heart.

“I’m sorry to pull you away from the others. It’s not my intent to spoil your night.”

Therese snorted sarcastically. _Spoil? Great, now I know this conversation isn’t going to be a good one._ She finally looked sideways towards Carol and saw disappointment in her eyes. _Shit. So much for keeping a calm head._ “Sorry” She looked away back out towards the street as her grip on the chain tightened.

“Therese?” The desperation in Carol’s voice frightened her. She had seen Carol undone once before and she didn’t want to see it again, especially knowing this time it was all her fault. She had caused this woman she loved pain. And now she couldn’t face her. Carol sighed and pushed on. “Therese, I don’t want to force you into this conversation but I beg of you to hear me out.”

Therese nodded silently. But continued to face out towards the street. Suddenly she felt a soft hand on her shoulder. “Would you rather we sit down? The café across the street keeps its furniture out after they close. We can go sit and talk.” She nodded again and let Carol lead the way.

Finally seated across from one another, Therese had hardly any choice but to finally look Carol in the eyes, probably an intentional move on her part.

“Why did you run away that night?”

_Always right to the point. “_ I didn’t RUN away.” Carol cocked her head at Therese and raised an eye brow. “Look I’m sorry I….did….But I just couldn’t let you do it.” Therese looked down at her hands, picking anxiously at her nails.

“Do what?” Carol pressed knowingly.

_God this woman isn’t going to help make this easy._ Tears started to well up in Therese’s eyes. She unknowingly let out a whisper as she brushed at the corner of her eye. “Damn it.”

She felt a hand cover hers. “Therese, please talk to me.”

She moved her hand out from under the blonde’s and took a deep breath. “I can’t let you risk everything for me. Your job, your work here at the theatre. I’m not worth it. I know the joy you get from working at the theatre and I understand the feeling of security that comes with having a job. I can’t fill those voids for you if you were to lose them over me. You were right. There’s just too much in the way for us to be together.” Therese finished and looked back down at her hands fidgeting in her lap. She thought she’d feel better after having let it out, explained to Carol why she left that night, but she didn’t. In fact she felt even more nervous waiting for Carol’s response. She felt like throwing up.

“Oh, Therese.” The compassion in Carol’s voice finally broke her and the tears she had been holding back finally broke free. Therese covered her face with her hands. “Oh my darling.” Carol rose from her seat and crouched down on her knees beside Therese. She took her hand away from her face and used her grip to turn Therese towards her. Therese kept her head down, embarrassed of her tears. Carol took the girl’s face in her hands and wiped tears away with her thumb. Therese grasped onto Carol’s wrists for support.

“You have no idea what it means to me that you care so much about me, about what I want or need and my well-being. I’m not angry with you, I never was. I understand why you did what you did and I’m sorry for the pain it has caused you. Therese, do you know what you have given me these past few weeks?” Therese shook her head. “You have given me myself. You’ve reminded me of the joy of being who I am, of being myself without shame. When I’m with you I feel free and happy for the first time in so long. It’s made me realize that I don’t want to live in fear or secret any longer. I want to live out and proud. And I intend to do just that. I set up meetings with the principle of my school and the head of the theatre organization.”

Therese started to protest but Carol gently covered the girl’s lips with her fingers. “It’s too late, darling. Please let me finish.” Therese nodded gently and involuntarily shivered when Carol slid her fingers off her lips, down her chin and then sideways across her jawline to settle back on her cheek.

“I had my meeting with the theatre’s board of directors first and told them of my situation with Harge and how he was going to try to out me. I explained I wanted to be the one to tell them and that I hoped it wouldn’t change my standing with them. And they were fine with it! They understood and even congratulated me on coming out and said if I ever needed any support or anything in dealing with Harge to let them know.”

Therese felt a small wave of relief rush over her. “But what about your job? What did the principle say?”

“Well, he said about the same thing. And that if Harge tried to go to the superintendent or the school board and that he would vouch for me if by chance they did side with Harge. But he doubted such a thing would happen. Therese, apart from Harge, I’ve tried to fill my life with kind and understanding people who genuinely care about the happiness of others. Sometimes I forget that I have those kinds of people in my life. You’ve helped me to remember.”

Therese laughed through new tears and wrapped her arms around Carol, causing them both to almost fall to the ground. Carol moved so that they were hugging in a standing position. She ran her hand over Therese’s hair in comfort and spoke softly in her ear.

“You see my darling, everything is going to be okay. It’s just you and me. I’ve missed you this past week. Not being able to touch you or talk to you was torture.”

Therese clung to the blonde, relishing being in her arms again. With her head tucked into her neck, she took a deep breath, savoring the scent that was Carol. She looked out over Carol’s shoulder across the street to the bar and watched a woman with long blonde hair walk in. She was suddenly reminded of a blonde at another bar. A switch in Therese flipped. She nearly pushed Carol away from her and stumbled back a few steps grabbing the chair with one hand to keep from falling over while using the other hand to wipe her still damp face.

“Honey are you okay?” Carol reached forward to help steady Therese.

“No don’t, please.” Therese took another step back. “I…I’d better get back. Danny and Marcia are probably waiting on me.” She tried to step around Carol but the taller woman side stepped to block her path.

“Hold on. What’s wrong?”

“Carol, please.” She tried to step around her again but her path was blocked once more, making her angry. “Carol!”

“They can wait a few more minutes. Talk to me, what’s wrong?”

“Look why don’t you find a nice blonde to talk to and leave me alone!” This time Therese pushed passed Carol, leaving her to watch the brunette’s retreating figure. To say Carol was stunned was an understatement. She also felt an odd sense of déjà vu. She sat in the chair Therese had been sitting in, defeated and confused. Where had she gone wrong? She thought she had explained everything. Harge’s threats were useless now, she wasn’t going to lose her job with the school or association with the theatre. There was nothing in their way. She couldn’t believe she had to watch Therese walk away from her again.

Again.

Suddenly it hit her. “Oh God.”   

It HAD been Therese she had seen that night at the bar after all when she was with Greta. Greta, the blonde! It all made sense! She took off across the street.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the wait on this next chapter! Things have been a little crazy! Enjoy, lovelies.

Carol didn’t make it to the bar in time. Therese had grabbed her friends and left in the moments after leaving her behind that night. She sat brooding in the car as Danny drove them home. Therese sighed loudly for a third time.

“What happened this time, Therese?” There was a hint of accusation to Danny’s voice. Therese whipped her head around to glare at him.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Therese, you can’t just run away from every problem.”

“I don’t!”

“Yes you do! You ran away the night that Harge showed up at Carol’s, you ran away from The Blind Rhino the other night, and you’re running away right now. Why are you fighting happiness so fiercely?”

“Happiness? Are you kidding? This whole thing with Carol has already caused me enough pain, it’s not meant to work out with us, it’s just turned into a nightmare.”

“You only think that because you won’t stick around to try to work it out, to hear Carol out. You have to stop assuming you know everything.”

 “I’m not!”

“Therese. You assumed you knew what was best the night you left Carol to deal with Harge on her own. You assume you know what was happening when you saw Carol at the bar. You assume that things just won’t work out without even trying. So do not sit there and act like this whole thing is out of your control. Carol is trying to mend things with you are you’re the one putting an end to it. What about her, huh? Have you thought about that? You’re not the only one going through a rough time. Have you even thought about how you might be hurting her?”

Therese grew silent and faced forward in her seat again. Danny was right.

 

After work the next day, Therese went straight to the theatre to help the set designer, Norma, with painting. Since it was community theatre, everything from costuming to the set design and building were done by volunteers. She needed something to do to keep herself occupied so decided she would just help out until rehearsal started.

She had been up all night tossing and turning. Therese had thought about texting Judy but decided against it. She had a feeling Judy would tell her the same thing Danny had. She knew she would have to be open to Carol if there was going to be any chance for them to be together. Danny was right, she was actively working against her own wants and happiness. And she did want to be with Carol. But she was still scared. It wasn’t going to be easy.

She was bent over facing away from the shop door, spray painting a wicker bench when she noticed a shadow cast on the floor next to her but didn’t bother looking up.

“I’m almost done here, Norma. There’s still some time left before I need to clean up for rehearsal. Is there something else I can work on for you?”

When she didn’t receive a response, she set down her paint can and she stood only to find Carol leaned up against a table a few feet away, arms crossed, with a smirk on her face. She seemed to revel in her ability to stun Therese.

“Carol.” Therese was speechless. She looked down at her hands, still freshly covered in spots of paint. “Sorry let me find something to wipe my hands off real quick.” She frantically started shifting through the items on the shop table trying to find a rag or towel.

“Don’t apologize, darling.”

Therese froze in her tracks but didn’t dare look towards Carol. _Don’t panic. Don’t run away._ She could hardly stand the butterflies in her stomach. Hell, she thought she may outright throw up. She had treated Carol so badly the night before. How could Carol still be so affectionate with her? Therese turned back to find Carol watching her with a tender smile tugging at her lips.

But past the grin Therese could see an exhaustion in her eyes. She had on less makeup than usual, a dark blue bandana fashioned into a headband, a gray tank top under a red plaid button up that hung open, dark cargo pants rolled up to her calves, and sneakers. But all in all she was still breathtaking. Therese appreciated this more casually dressed Carol. Not that she didn’t find her incredibly sexy when she was done up, but casual Carol just seemed more open and softer.

“I happened to come in early today and noticed your things sitting in the theatre. I wanted to come check on you. Well, to talk to you. About last night, I-“ A voice from outside stopped Carol.

“Therese, you’ll want to clean up soon!” Norma came around the corner. “I want you to have time to grab a snack or relax a bit before rehearsal starts. Oh hello, Carol! What are you doing here?”

“Oh, um, nothing much, I got here a bit earlier than I intended, overestimated traffic I guess, just thought I’d pop over and see who was around. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your work though.” Therese was astonished. There was an uneasiness to Carol’s voice she had never heard before. She suddenly couldn’t see to make eye contact with Therese or Norma. “I’ll just get out of the way and go grab a coffee.” Carol began to walk out.

Therese suddenly found her voice. “Carol, wait-“ But Norma cut in.

“Oh it’s no bother! Enjoy your coffee!” Carol disappeared around the corner as Norma stepped in front of Therese. “Almost finished here? It looks wonderful! Thank you so much for your help today. I feel like I’m drowning in things to do! I don’t get many helpers in here. At least not as many as sweet and willing as you.”

Therese managed a smile, trying to hide her disappointment at Carol slipping away before she could talk to her. She picked up her paint can and went back to work.

 

Half an hour later, Therese found herself sitting in the aisle of the theatre nibbling away at a banana and sipping some water. It was 6:30 and she hadn’t eaten since lunch. She knew she should try to get something in her before rehearsal started but she wasn’t very hungry. It was peaceful in the theatre with no one else around. She sat near the back of the audience in the dark.

She finished her banana, threw away the peel and sat back on the ground. Eventually she stretched out on her back and lazily closed her eyes.

A few silent minutes passed before she heard a muffled voice coming from backstage.

“Hold on, Abby.” Another silence followed. Therese kept still. She knew instantly who it was without looking. “Sorry, just wanted to check if anyone’s around…….Look I’ve told you enough. There’s not much else you need to know except I’m not about to give up on her. I think she’s just freaked out because of Harge…….Yes that’s all taken care of but she’s still resisting me…….Ok bad choice of words, you know what I mean…….What?.......No! Well, I mean…….” Carol by now had made her way into the seating at the front of the audience and sat down, seemingly unaware of Therese. “It’s just,” She huffed. “I was at the bar the other night and some woman was trying to hit on me. I didn’t want to be rude and tried to subtly turn her down but it exactly didn’t work. She was quite persistent. In fact, she may be a good match for you.” Carol chuckled and Therese couldn’t help smile along with her. “Anyway, I’m pretty sure Therese walked in and saw us.”

Suddenly Therese’s phone vibrated against the floor. She quickly grabbed it and turned it over preventing the light from her screen from giving her away. She shrunk down closer to the ground in hopes of keeping herself concealed.

“Hold on a moment, Abby.” Therese heard the creak of the seat telling her Carol had stood. She held her breath.

“Hello?” The silence seemed to engulf Therese.

“Sorry Abby, I thought I heard something. It’s getting close to rehearsal time, I’m surprised no one’s here yet…….She’s probably still next door helping Norma. Look I‘ll call you when I leave the theatre later tonight…….Oh a date? Of course you do, hot shot…….Call me tomorrow then whenever you finally stumble out of her bed…….Bye.”

Therese heard Carol sigh and sit back in her seat. She slowly sat up and watched the blonde from a far. She was slumped over scrolling through her phone. Therese stood and slowly approached her from behind. She was surprised Carol didn’t hear her and turn around, she seemed engrossed in her phone. When Therese was directly behind her, she realized Carol had stopped scrolling and was staring intently at her screen. Therese could just make out the words being displayed.

**Therese is fine. She made it somewhere safe and is with someone who will take care of her.**

**Thank you, so much.**

Therese’s heart dropped into her stomach. She had put Carol through so much that night. She was ashamed and suddenly felt the urge to do anything and everything to make it up to her.

She gently laid her hand on Carol’s shoulder and felt her stiffen under her touch.

 

 


	20. Chapter 20

Carol stared at her screen and wondered to herself if there wasn’t something she could’ve done that night to stop Therese, to reassure her, hold her tight until her fears dissipated. If she just hadn’t left Therese’s side she could’ve kept her from running. She would’ve dried her tears, led her to the bedroom, given her a change of clothes, and tucked her into bed. _I just want her to feel safe and cared about. I want her to feel loved._

She was pulled out of her thoughts by a gentle hand on her shoulder. She knew who it was without looking but she still couldn’t seem to turn around. She shut her eyes and the hand gave a slight squeeze. Finally Carol moved her own hand to cover the smaller one.

“Carol?”

“Yes, darling?” Carol’s voice was hardly a whisper. She kept her eyes closed.

Therese removed her hand and sat behind her.

The blonde slowly turned in her seat to face the brunette. Therese couldn’t keep eye contact and looked down. “Carol, I wanted to-“

“Darling, I’m up here.” Therese glanced up to see Carol smiling at her, a glint of teasing in her eyes putting Therese more at ease. She pushed on.

“I’m sorry. For everything. For running out on you that night in your apartment. After our date that evening I was on top of the world. And then Harge came and I got scared. It felt like one of those ‘too good to be true’ moments and I freaked out. And I’m sorry about last night. For what I said and leaving you standing out there. I jumped to conclusions and I was horrible. Carol, I’m so sorry.” Therese’s voice broke and tears sprung to her eyes.

“Oh, my baby.” Carol lifted her hands to the girl’s face. “You don’t have to apologize. I understand. I know why you did what you did. All of it. I was never upset with you. It kills me to see you hurting.”

Tears started to flow down Therese’s cheeks. “Please take me back, Carol. I need you. Please.”

Something behind Therese drew Carol’s attention.

“Honey, people are coming in. Go splash so water on your face, put yourself back together.” Therese drew away, her cheeks suddenly flush with embarrassment after begging. “Therese. Everything will be alright. Understand me?” Therese nodded. “Alright. Go get cleaned up.”

 

Therese kept to herself for the rest of rehearsal. Anytime she wasn’t on stage she would retreat to a seat at the back of the audience, watching the others. Everyone seemed so cheerful. She was happy for them. It was a great group of people to work with. But she felt so lost herself. Soon she was consumed in her own thoughts and didn’t notice when someone came to sit by her.

“Hello, you in there?”

Therese looked to her left at Danny. “Hm?”

“I asked if you were okay.”

“Oh, yeah. Sure, I’m fine.”

“Mhmm, sure you are. Thinking about last night?”

“That. And today.”

“Today? Did you talk to her?”

“Yeah. Well…sort of.”

“Babe! What happened? What did you say? What did SHE say?! Why didn’t you tell me!!”

Therese chuckled. “If you’d give me a chance to speak I WILL tell you!”

“Is that why you didn’t ride with us today?”

Therese gave Danny a quick rundown of what had happened a few hours before. When she finished he looked like he was waiting for her to say more.

“And…..that’s it….”

“Why aren’t you over there talking to her!?”

“Danny the last thing I did was beg her to take me back and she didn’t answer.”

“You said someone walked in!”

“I know, I know. But the ball’s in her court now. I’m just going to wait for her to make the next move. I was awful to her, Danny. I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t want-“

“Don’t say that.” Therese flinched at his short tone. Danny squeezed her hand. “Don’t assume. You’ve done too much of that, okay?” His voice was gentler this time. She nodded and Danny gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “Just make sure you at least say bye to her tonight.”

“Okay.” She silently watched Danny leave her to rejoin the others.

Therese glanced towards the stage and watched as Carol walked down the steps and sat in the first row of the audience, the cast was officially on a ten minute break. The brunette sighed and retreated towards the lobby to use the restroom, partially to prevent anyone else from coming to talk to her. She wasn’t in a chatty mood.

After washing her hands she stared at herself in the mirror. The red puffiness around her eyes had receded and it was no longer obvious she had cried earlier. But her face was still drawn and she could distinctly see dark circles under her eyes. She felt like she was wearing a mask of exhaustion. _What a sight I am. Sooooo attractive._ She sighed and turned out the light as she opened the door.

She walked back into the theatre and paused when she saw a blonde sitting where she had isolated herself to before. She didn’t need to see the face to know who it was. Her stomach flipped in anticipation and she tried to subtly hurry back to her seat.

She sat next to the taller woman but kept her eyes forward, her hands in her lap. She was keenly aware of the heat coming from Carol’s body, seeping through her like fire. She shifted in her seat. Out of her peripheral she could tell Carol was also keeping her focus forward towards the stage but jumped when she suddenly felt a tug on her hand. She relinquished and let Carol intertwine their fingers. Therese’s eyes anxiously darted around the theatre to see if anyone was paying attention to them but Carol didn’t seem phased.

“Will you come to my apartment for dinner tonight?”

Therese glanced towards Carol and away again. She didn’t have to think twice. “Yes. Yes, I will.”

 

Carol left rehearsal during the second break of the night but not before she pulled Therese aside. They were tucked back under the stairs in the dark lobby. Therese felt light headed. She was floored being alone with this woman, that this gorgeous creature wanted to be alone with her. She hung on Carol’s every word as she told Therese she was leaving early and she’d have dinner ready by the time rehearsal was over if Therese still wanted to join her.

She gently tucked a stray hair behind the young girl’s ear and caressed her cheek. Carol looked as though she were contemplating saying something.

Therese tilted her head slightly into Carol’s hand. “What is it?”

“Nothing. I’ll see you soon, darling.” She leaned into Therese opposite her hand and gently kissed the girl’s cheek before she floated out the front door.

Therese stood frozen for a moment, taking in the feeling of Carol’s lips on her cheek and the lingering smell of her perfume before it all slipped away.

An hour later Therese put her car in park and stared out the window at Carol’s apartment. Her mind flashed back to a week before; raised voices, tears, running down the stairs and the pain that tore at her heart. Her breath quickened as a moment of panic washed over her. Her hand instinctively moved back to the gear shift and she foot pressed on the break. But before she could throw the car into reverse her phone went off. She glanced over at her purse sitting in the passenger seat and released her grip on the gear shift. She pulled out her phone to see a text from Carol

**Did Maureen keep you late?**

Therese took a deep breath and reached to turn off the car.

**No. I just parked.**

She grabbed her purse and shoved her phone back inside, took off her seatbelt and stepped out of the car. She started to ascend the stairs. On the last flight she looked up to see a blonde goddess waiting for her. She smiled and couldn’t help but sprint up the last few steps into her open arms. Carol held her tightly, almost lifting her off the ground. Therese felt the sting of tears and laughed breathlessly at herself. This was exactly where she wanted to be. She was crazy for trying to fight it even for a moment.

“What’s so funny?”

“Me.”

Carol pulled back. “Oh? Why?”

Therese smiled and ran her fingers through Carol’s hair. “For thinking even for a moment I shouldn’t be with you.”

Carol kissed her forehead and grabbed her hand. “Come on, dinner’s just about ready.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry these chapters have been a little short. Enjoy!


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